THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  AND 
INDUSTRIAL    EFFICIENCY 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  AND 
INDUSTRIAL  EFFICIENCY 


BY 

LORD  LEVERHULME 


BEING  AN  ABRIDGED  AND  REARRANGED 
EDITION  OF  THE  AUTHOR'S  SIX-HOUR  DAY 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY 

HENRY  R.  SEAGER 


NEW   YORK 

HENRY  HOLT  AND  COMPANY 
1920 


COPYRIGHT,  1920 

BY 

HENRY  HOLT  AND  COMPANY 


gfr  autnn  &  Sobfn   Company 

BOOK      MANUFACTURERS 
RAHWAY  NEW    JERSEY 


FOREWORD 

PROGRESSIVE  American  employers  are  little  troubled  to-day 
by  lack  of  capital.  Also  they  very  generally  understand  how 
to  embody  capital  in  plants  and  equipment  that  are  techni- 
cally up-to-date  and  efficient.  It  is  not  these  factors  that 
limit  production  but  rather  the  failure  of  employees  to  put 
forth  their  best  efforts. 

There  are  various  explanations  of  this  failure.  Some 
employers  say  that  the  workers  have  deteriorated.  Others 
place  the  blame  on  restrictions  on  output  deliberately  de- 
cided upon  in  the  belief  that  the  less  work  each  does  the 
more  employment  there  will  be  for  all.  Whatever  degree  of 
truth  there  may  be  in  these  or  other  explanations,  it  is 
obvious  that  the  root  cause  lies  in  the  workers'  indifference. 

Outside  of  the  factory,  American  wage-earners  are  alert 
and  intelligent  enough.  The  trouble  is  that  as  factory  em- 
ployments have  become  more  and  more  minutely  subdivided, 
the  tasks  to  be  performed  by  each  worker  are  no  longer 
very  interesting  in  themselves,  and  the  consciousness  of 
partnership  with  the  employer  in  the  common  enterprise 
which  might  save  the  worker  from  degenerating  into  a 
human  automaton  is  too  often  lacking. 

This  unfortunate  situation  is  not  peculiar  to  American 
industry.  British  employers  deplore  the  unresponsiveness 
of  the  British  wage-earner  as  bitterly,  and  apparently  with 
as  good  reason,  as  do  American  employers  that  of  the 
American  wage-earner. 

Happily  all  British  employers  are  not  mere  fault-finders. 
The  great  merit  of  the  chapters  that  follow  is  that  they  deal 
with  this  central  problem  of  modern  industry,  the  indiffer- 
ence of  the  worker,  not  negatively  but  constructively.  They 


vi  FOREWORD 

describe  practical  measures  by  means  of  which  this  indif- 
ference may  be  overcome.  These  measures  are  not  the 
•vague  proposals  of  an  academic  student  of  the  labour  prob- 
lem. Most  of  them  have  been  actually  tried  out  by  Lord 
Leverhulme  in  his  great  factories,  and  their  success  is  regis- 
tered in  the  well-being  of  his  employees  in  the  famous 
model  city,  Port  Sunlight,  and  in  the  recurring  dividends 
of  Lever  Brothers,  Limited. 

Lord  Leverhulme's  remedy  for  the  defects  of  modern 
industry  may  be  summed  up  in  one  word,  co-partnership. 
By  this  he  means  an  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  employer 
that  is  truly  and  consistently  that  of  an  elder  partner  towards 
junior  partners.  He  has  no  illusions  about  the  prepared- 
ness of  employees  to  assume  at  once  a  large  share  in  the 
responsibilities  of  business  management.  There  must  con- 
tinue to  be  a  business  head.  Discipline  must  still  be  main- 
tained. But  the  point  of  view  must  be  that  of  leadership, 
not  of  mastership. 

To  the  extent  that  the  employer  will  regard  and  treat  his 
employees  as  partners  in  the  business,  Lord  Leverhulme 
feels  confident,  from  his  own  practical  experience,  that  the 
employees  will  respond  by  developing  on  their  side  the 
partnership  attitude.  And  he  believes  that  this  relationship 
of  partners,  if  honestly  adhered  to,  may  be  expanded  by 
gradual  stages  into  outright  co-operation,  in  which  the 
capital  of  the  common  enterprise  is  owned  jointly  by  the 
employees,  including  the  original  employer,  and  in  which 
all  share  in  the  management. 

Up  to  this  point  Lord  Leverhulme's  proposals  differ  little 
from  those  of  other  progressive  and  democratically  minded 
employers.  His  striking  departure  is  in  his  serious  advocacy 
of  the  Six  Hour  Shift  as  the  productive  period  of  maximum 
efficiency.  To  attempt  to  summarize  his  reasons  for  advo- 
cating the  Six  Hour  Shift  would  be  to  weaken  the  force  of 
his  argument.  He  urges  it  in  part  because  of  his  sympa- 


FOREWORD  vii 

thetic  appreciation  of  the  viewpoint  of  the  junior  partners, 
the  employees.  Even  more  he  sees  in  it  the  indispensable 
condition  to  that  leisure  for  continued  education  in  adult 
years  which  he  deems  essential  to  the  development  of  the 
latent  capacities  of  the  workers  and  the  realization  of  their 
fullest  efficiency.  For  he  makes  it  very  clear  that  his  ad- 
vocacy of  the  Six  Hour  Shift  is  not  due  to  any  exaggerated 
notion  of  the  value  of  increased  leisure  for  its  own  sake. 
It  is  based  rather  upon  his  conviction  that  in  the  long  run 
it  will  be  found  to  be  the  work  period  leading  to  maximum 
per  capita  production. 

Should  any  reader  conclude  that  advocacy  of  such  ex- 
treme curtailment  of  the  average  work  day  must  betoken 
some  visionary  twist  in  a  mind  otherwise  sane  and  practical, 
it  may  be  well  for  him  to  begin  with  the  final  chapter  of  this 
book.  In  it  Lord  Leverhulme  pays  his  respects  to  Socialists 
and  other  extremists  and  shows  his  firm  grasp  of  the  reasons 
in  human  nature  and  in  human  history  for  the  superiority 
of  an  industrial  system  based  on  freedom  of  individual 
enterprise.  Having  convinced  himself  that  the  author  is 
both  clear-headed  and  hard-headed,  the  reader  may  turn 
to  the  earlier  chapters  with  confidence  that  the  same  quali- 
ties are  dominant  there  also.  Only  in  these  earlier  chapters 
he  will  find  them  re-enforced  by  an  insight  into  human 
nature  and  a  vision  of  human  potentialities  which  make  Lord 
Leverhulme  something  more  than  a  great  industrial  leader. 
He  is  a  veritable  prophet  of  a  new  and  better  industrial 
age. 

Because  these  chapters  are  based  on  the  actual  experience 
of  a  successful  employer;  because  they  are  inspired  by  a 
sympathetic  understanding  of  the  desires  and  aspirations 
of  Anglo-American  wage-earners ;  and  because  they  propose 
remedies  equally  adapted  to  the  American  as  to  the  British 
situation,  they  are  commended  to  the  attention  of  all  who 
feel  dissatisfaction  with  present  industrial  conditions. 


viii  FOREWORD 

The  preparation  of  this  new  and  abridged  American 
edition  has  been  entrusted  to  Mr.  Frank  Tannenbaum.  He 
has  been  careful  to  make  no  alterations  in  the  text  of  the 
original  essays  and  addresses  but  has  limited  himself  to  the 
rearrangement  of  the  material  and  the  renaming  of  some 
of  the  chapters  so  as  to  make  clearer  their  contribution  to 
the  development  of  the  author's  argument.  The  materials 
used  are  the  addresses  and  articles  which  appeared  orig- 
inally under  the  title  of  THE  SIX-HOUR  DAY. 

HENRY  R.  SEAGER. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  THE  PROBLEM  OF  INDUSTRIAL  EFFICIENCY     .         3 

II.  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  .       .       .       .       .       .       17 

III.  THE  Six-HouR  SHIFT  (Continued)  .       .       .       38 

IV.  HARMONIZING  CAPITAL  AND  LABOR  .       .       .       56 
V.  CO-PARTNERSHIP    .       .               .       .       ..       .69 

VI.  CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  BUSINESS  MANAGEMENT      85 

VII.  CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  EFFICIENCY     .       .       .113 

VIII.  CO-OPERATIVE  ASPECT  OF  BUSINESS  .       .       .     131 

IX.    HEALTH  AND  HOUSING 145 

X.  SHOP  COMMITTEES  AND  SHOP  EFFICIENCY      .     164 

XL  INDUSTRIAL  ADMINISTRATION     ....     181 

XII.  THE  WORKERS'  INTEREST  IN  PRODUCTIVITY    .     197 

XIII.  PRINCIPLES  OF  RECONSTRUCTION       .       .       .217 

XIV.  SOCIALISM,  OR  EQUALITY  vs.  EQUITY       .       .     241 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  AND 
INDUSTRIAL    EFFICIENCY 


I 

THE  PROBLEM  OF  INDUSTRIAL  EFFICIENCY 

WHEN  this  world-war  is  over  we  shall  be  confronted 
with  problems  which,  whilst  in  no  way  new,  will  be  pre- 
sented in  new  and  acute  forms.  How  shall  we,  as  an 
empire,  emerge  from  this  ordeal?  Are  we  to  continue  a 
progressive  democracy  or  sink  into  the  slough  of  So- 
cialism and  Anarchy?  The  decision  will  rest  not  with 
the  Socialists  or  Anarchists;  not  with  politicians  or 
Governments,  but  with  the  business  men  and  working 
men  of  the  Empire.  Hitherto  on  both  sides  there  has 
been  a  disastrous  exhibition  of  short-sightedness  and 
of  greed,  or  lack  of  knowledge  of  those  economic  laws 
on  which  all  solid  well-being  must  and  can  only  rest. 
Every  increase  in  wages  and  shortening  of  hours  has 
been  resisted  by  business  men  as  a  raid  on  their  ability 
to  meet  competition  and  make  reasonable  profits.  And 
every  attempt  by  business  men  to  increase  output  and 
reduce  costs  has  been  met  by  the  workers  with  sullen 
indifference  or  the  active  opposition  of  "  ca'  canny " 
methods. 

Now  we  shall,  after  the  war,  be  entering  upon  the  most 
fateful  and  critical  stage  of  our  Empire's  career.  This 
war  has  thrown  all  previous  rules  and  practices  into  the 
melting-pot.  How  will  the  Empire  emerge?  Are  we 
to  attempt  after  the  war  to  restore  old  decayed,  wrong, 
and  ruinous  practices,  or  is  there  to  be  a  radical  recast- 
ing of  all  our  business  and  labour  methods?  It  has  been 
truly  said  that  "  to  govern  and  in  turn  to  be  governed  is 
the  only  form  of  true  liberty."  In  a  true  democracy  and 

3 


4  ;  { . : ' :  j  THE*  •  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

in  this  sense  there  is  no  governing  class  and  no  class 
that  is  governed:  all  classes  govern,  and  all  classes  in 
turn  serve  alike  and  together.  All  classes  serve  one 
master — the  only  master  whose  service  all  liberty-loving 
citizens  can  be  proud  to  serve — and  that  is  their  coun- 
try's welfare. 

Amidst  all  this  confusion  and  clash  of  arms,  this  re- 
turn to  conditions  of  savage  barbarism,  our  great  en- 
couragement and  confidence  are  that  the  British  Empire 
stands  solid  and  united  to  face  her  foes,  and  loyal  to  our 
King  as  Sovereign  of  the  British  race  at  home  and  in 
our  Colonies  as  never  before  in  her  history.  Some 
timid  people,  suffering  from  an  attack  of  cold  feet,  nerv- 
ously ask,  "What  about  Labour?"  The  answer  we 
can  find  most  clearly  written  in  our  history  is,  "  Trust 
labour  wholeheartedly  and  wisely,  and  all  will  be  well." 
A  good  and  wise  lover  of  the  cause  of  Labour  can  never 
be  a  bad  or  undesirable  citizen  of  the  British  Empire. 
Ajid  it  will  be  our  own  fault  if,  by  distrust  and  suspi- 
cions, we  make  him  so.  Let  us  never  forget  that  the 
British  spirit  responds  best  when  trusted,  and  can  only 
become  stupid,  morose,  and  bad  when  distrusted  and 
viewed  with  suspicion.  This  nation  as  a  whole  has  never 
yet  really  trusted  Labour.  We  have  always  borne  a 
mental  attitude  of  suspicion  and  distrust  towards  La- 
bour. Well,  this  attitude  won't  help  us,  and  is  doomed 
to  most  serious  failure  and  may  bring  possible  disaster 
to  the  Empire.  We  have,  with  unbounded  success, 
trusted  our  Colonies  and  other  sections  of  the  community 
that  make  up  the  British  Empire,  and,  when  we  have 
done  so,  all  has  been  well.  We  have  even  trusted  the 
Boers  in  South  Africa,  who  were  so  recently  at  war 
against  us;  and  now  who  amongst  us  dare  to-day  to 
come  forward  and  say  that  our  trust  has  not  been  amply 
and  fully  repaid  by  the  loyalty  and  devotion  to  the  British 


PROBLEM  OF  INDUSTRIAL  EFFICIENCY        5 

Empire  of  our  South  African  brothers,  Boer  or  Briton? 
Distrust  and  suspicion  can  only  breed  distrust  and  sus- 
picion, whilst  confidence  and  trust  inspire  confidence  and 
trust.  The  sympathy  of  every  right-thinking  man  or 
woman  is  with  those  who  toil;  with  those  who  produce 
the  necessities  and  comforts  of  life;  with  those  who  bear 
the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day  in  whatever  position  they 
may  be  working:  employer-capitalists  or  employee- 
workers. 

Our  national  future  stability  has  its  sure  foundation  in 
the  fact  that  both  employer-capitalist  and  employee- 
worker  are  each  becoming  more  and  more  intelligent 
every  year  that  passes.  The  day  is  fast  coming  when 
both  will  be  intelligent  enough  to  recognize  that  their 
interests  are  identical  and  that  the  prosperity  of  either 
depends  on  the  prosperity  of  both. 

Life  is  not  merely  a  respite  between  the  sentence  of 
death  which  is  passed  on  all  life  at  birth  and  the  execu- 
tion of  that  sentence.  Every  healthy  human  being  seeks 
for  happiness,  and  has  to  find  happiness  in  supplying  the 
wants  of  the  body  with  food,  clothing,  and  shelter.  And 
equally  happiness  can  only  be  found  in  feeding  mind  and 
soul  with  ideals  of  beauty,  art,  and  learning.  Happi- 
ness of  the  lasting,  permanent  type,  without  after  shad- 
ows of  regrets  or  ghosts  of  repentances,  is  the  only  good, 
and  everything  that  tends  to  produce  such  happiness  in 
men  and  women  is  good,  and  to  do  whatever  produces 
this  state  and  condition  is  to  achieve  the  highest  possible 
gain  for  the  Empire  and  the  whole  of  mankind. 

Our  industries  progress,  science  progresses,  but  we 
have  little  or  no  corresponding  progress  in  conditions  of 
comfort  of  the  workers.  The  employee-worker  lags  be- 
hind in  that  culture,  education,  social  and  economic  well- 
being  which  he  ought  to  enjoy  under  modern  conditions 
of  civilization.  Our  manufacturing  towns  are  squalid 


6  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

and  overcrowded,  with  ugly  dwellings,  without  gardens. 
They  are  unlovely  congestions,  without  beauty  or  possi- 
bility of  refinement,  and  the  great  bulk  of  the  workers 
remain  at  a  relatively  low  state  of  betterment.  The  in- 
dividual Home  is  the  solid  rock  and  basis  of  every  strong, 
intelligent  race.  The  more  homes  there  are  and  the 
better  these  homes  are,  the  more  stable  and  strong  the 
nation  becomes.  Men  and  women  who  get  up  to  go  to 
work  before  daylight  and  return  from  that  work  after 
dark,  cannot  find  life  worth  living.  They  are  simply 
working  to  earn  enough  one  day  to  prepare  themselves 
to  go  to  work  again  the  next  day.  Their  whole  life  is 
one  grey,  dull,  monotonous  grind,  and  soon  their  lives 
become  of  no  more  value  to  themselves  or  the  nation 
than  that  of  mere  machines. 

Every  year  the  workers  become  more  intelligent  and 
more  acute  reasoners.  Think  of  the  intelligence  re- 
quired in  the  workers  to  produce  a  modern  locomotive 
or  a  greyhound  of  the  Atlantic,  or  to  work  and  operate 
the  same,  and  to  make  and  operate  all  the  thousands  of 
different  types  of  machines  now  producing  and  working 
for  the  good  of  man.  And  each  succeeding  year  de- 
mands still  higher  intelligence  to  produce  still  higher, 
better,  and  more  complex  mechanical  utilities. 

The  requirements  of  our  ancestors  were  few,  but  as 
civilization  advances,  not  only  do  the  wants  of  the  body 
for  variety  in  food,  raiment,  and  shelter  increase,  but 
as  the  mind  and  soul  expand,  the  intellectual  horizon  wid- 
ens and  the  higher  plane  of  living  demands  more  and 
more  leisure  to  feed  its  hunger  for  better  conditions  of 
life. 

In  the  dark  ages  that  are  past,  man  believed  in  the 
supernatural  as  the  direction  in  which  he  should  search 
to  satisfy  his  super-wants.  To  meet  disease  and  death, 
primitive  man  believed  in  charms,  magics,  fetishes,  and 


PROBLEM  OF  INDUSTRIAL  EFFICIENCY         7 

incantations.  In  chemistry  he  sought  for  the  transmuta- 
tion of  base  metals  into  gold,  and  his  idea  of  mechanics 
was  a  search  for  perpetual  motion;  and  as  to  Govern- 
ments, he  relied  on  the  Divine  Right  of  Kings  and  In- 
fallibility of  Popes. 

Are  we  not  equally  ignorant  and  equally  doomed  to 
disappointment  if  to-day  the  employer-capitalist  relies  on 
the  magic  of  the  "  perpetual  motion "  fetish  of  long 
hours  of  toil,  with  low  wages  for  employee- workers ;  and 
are  we  not  also  doomed  to  disappointment  if  to-day 
the  employee-workers  rely  on  the  "  Philosopher's  Stone  " 
of  "  ca'  canny  "  and  the  "  transmutation  "  of  restriction 
of  output  into  the  "Elixir  of  Life"? 

The  struggle  of  science  and  right  thinking  against 
ignorance  and  prejudice  during  the  dark  ages  was  long 
and  bitter,  but  to-day  no  chemist  is  seeking  for  the 
"  Elixir  of  Life "  or  trying  to  discover  the  "  Philos- 
opher's Stone."  And  equally  our  present-day  ignorance 
of  those  economic  laws  that  govern  costs  of  production 
will  disappear,  and  we  shall  learn  that  by  development 
and  encouragement  of  individual  effort  for  increased 
output  in  fewer  hours  with  higher  wages  we  can  best 
serve  all  mankind  and  best  overcome  all  obstacles  to 
progress,  and  so,  by  taking  advantage  of  discoveries  of 
science  in  invention  and  industrial  development,  supply 
all  our  wants  with  less  exertion  and  secure  a  greater  re- 
serve of  leisure  to  satisfy  the  hunger  of  mind  and  soul. 

We  are  all  agreed  that  the  industrial  situation  has  be- 
come the  most  pressing  after-war  problem  to  be  solved, , 
and  that  the  solution  will  not  be  easy,  not  because  there  \ 
is  more  poverty  in  the  United  Kingdom  to-day  than  ever    \ 
— as  a  matter  of  fact  there  is  less  poverty  than  ever 
before  in  our  history — but  because  there  is  a  wholesome 
Labour  unrest  and  national  craving   for  vastly  better 
conditions  of  life.    The  poor  are  not  growing  poorer,  and 


8  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

the  workman  of  to-day  is  better  off  than  his  employer 
was  two  centuries  ago.  But  because — and  I  rejoice  that 
it  is  so — the  workman  is  each  day  becoming  more  ambi- 
tious, his  mind  and  soul  are  expanding  at  a  greater  rate 
than,  under  existing  conditions — even  with  higher  wages 
— his  leisure  time  permits  him  to  keep  pace  with.  Each 
year  the  workman  is  becoming  a  better  educated  man, 
with  better  social  outlook.  Whilst  his  social  outlook  is 
expanding,  the  workman  in  the  twentieth  century  finds 
himself  simply  a  seller  of  service,  and  that  he  has  gradu- 
ally become  a  cipher  in  a  most  complex  industrial  sys- 
tem, and  has  his  life  absorbed  and  controlled  as  a  mere 
unit  in  a  great  factory  or  workshop  that  leaves  him  no 
scope  for  the  exercise  of  the  higher  intellectual  develop- 
ments of  modern  life. 

While  science  is  making  life  more  livable  and  lovable 
by  means  of  rapid  transit  and  greater  range  of  interests 
and  wider  scope,  the  time  of  the  worker  is  occupied  al- 
most entirely  in  the  provision  of  food,  shelter,  and 
clothing,  with  little  or  no  leisure  time  remaining,  even 
if  he  had  the  means,  to  provide  for  a  higher  level  of 
living.  He  sees  other  sections  of  the  community  dash- 
ing about  in  motor-cars  and  generally  living  what  appear 
to  be,  in  contrast  with  his  own  life,  lives  of  leisure  and 
comfort.  So  long  as  the  workman's  life  is  passed  in 
monotonous  toil  in  factory  and  workshop  from  daybreak 
to  sunset,  no  wages,  however  high,  can  make  up  for  this 
separation  from  all  that  is  highest  and  best  in  life:  the 
workman  is  not  content  to  be  exhausted  in  the  task  of 
providing  food,  shelter,  and  clothing  for  himself,  wife, 
and  children,  with  practically  no  leisure  for  other  pur- 
suits. 

This  is  perhaps  a  subconscious  state,  and  is  a  condition 
that  the  workman  himself  would  probably  be  unable  to 
put  into  clear  language,  but  that  it  exists  is  plainly  shown 


PROBLEM  OF  INDUSTRIAL  EFFICIENCY         9 

by  the  so-called  "  Labour  Unrest/'  and  by  the  readiness 
with  which  a  section  of  the  Labour  Party  is  prepared, 
Samson  like,  to  break  the  pillars  and  throw  down  the 
whole  structure  of  Society,  rather  than  continue  under 
the  present  conditions  of  the  workman's  life  (which 
hateful  conditions  are  far  from  being  merely  and  solely 
a  question  of  wages) — he  disregards  social  usages, 
awards  of  umpires,  his  own  Trade  Union  leaders,  and 
the  legal  rights  of  Society,  and  would  seek  industrial 
revolution  in  order  to  obtain  redress  from  his  present 
industrial  position,  and  often  merely  imaginary  griev- 
ances. 

All  this  "  Labour  Unrest "  arises  from  the  fact  that 
his  life  in  factory  and  workshop  has  become  one  dull, 
monotonous  grind,  from  schoolage  to  dotage,  and  this 
state  of  mind  is  as  dangerous  to  the  workman  himself 
as  it  is  to  the  nation — dangerous  to  himself,  because, 
while  he  smarts  under  the  oppression  of  his  lot  in  life, 
he  does  not  quite  know  how  to  obtain  that  fullness  of 
life  and  happiness,  comfort  and  well-being,  leisure  and 
advancement  for  which  he  hungers. 

It  is  a  basic  law  of  all  healthy,  permanent  growth  that 
no  one  part  of  a  whole  can  increase  and  develop  without 
all  other  parts  being  symmetrically  and  proportionately 
increased  and  developed.  This  is  equally  true  of  Society 
as  a  whole  or  viewed  in  sections.  No  section  of  Society 
can  enjoy  improved  conditions  without  all  other  sections 
enjoying  improved  conditions — otherwise  there  would 
be  a  lack  of  symmetry  in  the  whole  and  danger  of  the 
social  tree  toppling  over  at  the  first  gale  that  tested 
the  strength  of  the  hold  of  its  roots  on  the  solid  ground. 
The  future  security,  or  the  present  danger  that  menaces 
the  industrial  world,  will  be  exactly  in  proportion  to  the 
symmetrical  growth  or  lack  thereof  in  all  its  parts.  We 
can  have  no  so-called  leisured  class  or  moneyed  class  un- 


10  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

less  all  classes  can  enjoy  the  opportunity  in  their  lives 
of  leisure  and  money  in  symmetrical  proportion.  Not 
in  equal  proportions,  because  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
equality  or  uniformity  in  God's  scheme  of  man  or  of 
nature.  But  nature's  and  man's  Creator  never  planned 
that  one  section  should  be  starved  whilst  another  section 
be  overfed  without  decay  and  death  resulting.  There- 
fore our  problem  can  only  be  solved  by  increasing 
wealth  and  increasing  leisure.  Then  equal  distribution 
would  have  no  meaning,  because  the  mere  fact  of  equal 
distribution  would  increase  neither  the  total  wealth  nor 
the  total  leisure — in  fact,  equal  distribution  would  de- 
crease both,  by  withdrawing  the  stimulus  of  reward  from 
those  possessed  of  the  power  to  create  wealth  and  leisure, 
and  would  encourage  the  "  leaners  "  and  "  apathetics  "  to 
cease  from  all  efforts  and  to  make  no  use  of  oppor- 
tunity as  a  means  for  development  in  skill  and  knowl- 
edge for  production  of  wealth. 

The  power  to  create  wealth  is  not  a  power  against  the 
public  interest  and  well-being,  any  more  than  is  bodily 
health  and  strength  or  great  intellectual  power.  A  man 
is  not  an  enemy  of  the  human  race  because,  by  exercise 
of  foresight,  thrift,  and  intelligence,  he  has  accumulated 
great  wealth,  any  more  than  is  the  man  who,  by  temper- 
ate living  and  good  habits,  apcumulates  a  store  of  good 
health,  and  consequently  is  fitted  to  live  a  long  life.  It 
would  be  as  logical,  as  right,  and  as  reasonable  for  the 
consumptives,  the  weak,  the  feeble,  and  the  diseased  to 
denounce  the  healthy  and  strong  as  it  is  for  those  pos- 
sessing little  or  no  wealth  to  denounce  the  rich  and 
wealthy.  And  it  would  be  just  as  effective  a  cure  for 
consumption,  weakness,  feebleness,  and  disease  to  take 
steps  to  reduce  the  healthy  and  strong  to  a  state  of  weak- 
ness, feebleness,  and  disease  as  it  would  be  a  cure  for 
poverty  to  attempt  to  conscript  the  riches  of  the  wealthy. 


PROBLEM  OF  INDUSTRIAL  EFFICIENCY       11 

Take,  for  instance,  the  crude  Henry  George  theories 
that  to  abolish  all  property  in  land  by  confiscating  the 
rents  received  from  land,  and  the  more  recent  sugges- 
tions of  others,  that  to  abolish  all  ownership  in  capital 
by  confiscating  all  interest  and  profits  on  capital  would 
abolish  poverty,  and  this  wealth,  when  shared  in  by  all 
equally,  would  bring  about  the  millennium.  These  pro- 
posals are  shown  up  in  all  their  grotesque  absurdity  when 
we  examine  the  figures,  for  we  then  find  that  their  prod- 
uct, on  pre-war  basis,  would,  if  divided  equally,  be  under 
i  id.  per  head  per  day  for  each  man,  woman,  and  child 
in  the  United  Kingdom.  In  this  calculation  we  take,  of 
course,  no  count  of  salaries  or  wages,  or  of  foreign  in- 
vestments, but  merely  of  profits,  rents,  and  interest  on 
capital  invested  in  the  United  Kingdom. 

So  that  equality  or  uniformity  of  wealth  is  clearly  no 
way  to  abolish  poverty. 

A  man  is  not  a  criminal  merely  because  he  is  wealthy 
nor  is  a  man  a  criminal  merely  because  he  is  weak,  feeble, 
or  diseased.  A  man  is  not  judged  merely  by  his  state  of 
health  or  disease,  or  his  state  of  wealth  or  poverty,  but 
by  his  acts  and  how  he  lives,  be  he  healthy  or  diseased, 
be  he  wealthy  or  poor,  and  he  is  also  rightly  judged  by 
how  he  came  by  his  health  or  disease  and  how  he  came 
by  his  wealth  or  poverty. 

Some  men  acquired  their  health  and  strength,  their 
feebleness,  ill-health,  or  disease  from  their  parents; 
others  gained  their  strength  and  health,  or  acquired 
their  ill-health,  feebleness,  or  disease,  by  their  own  acts. 
Equally,  some  men  inherit  their  wealth  or  poverty  from 
their  parents,  whilst  others  have  gained  their  wealth  or 
become  poor  by  their  own  acts.  A  strong,  healthy  man 
can  use  his  health  and  strength  not  only  for  his  own 
benefit  and  happiness,  but  also  for  the  good  and  happi- 
ness of  others;  and  so  become  a  gain  to  the  whole  human 


12  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

race.  Equally,  a  wealthy  man  can  use  his  wealth  and 
riches  not  only  for  his  own  benefit  and  happiness,  but  also 
for  the  good  and  happiness  of  others,  and  so  become  a 
gain  to  the  whole  human  race.  The  well-being  and  hap- 
piness of  the  whole  human  race  depend  not  on  equality 
of  health  or  of  wealth,  but  on  each  man  and  woman 
making  the  best  use  of  their  health  or  wealth,  be  either 
or  both  little  or  great,  for  the  production  of  more  health 
and  more  wealth.  It  is  only  so  that  gradually  all  can  be- 
come healthy  and  all  wealthy.  Every  advantage  must  be 
taken  of  every  opportunity  for  creation  of  conditions 
that  make  it  easier  for  each  man  and  woman — if  they 
so  will — to  become  more  and  more  healthy  and  strong, 
more  and  more  wealthy  and  happy. 

The  great  end  and  aim  of  life  is  happiness.  The  happy 
man  or  woman  is  the  highest  product  the  world  can  pro- 
duce, whatever  their  state  of  health  or  wealth,  but  health 
and  wealth  are  great  removers  of  limitations.  And  that 
is  all  that  either  health  or  wealth  can  do  for  any  of  us 
— just  remove  our  limitations  and  give  us  a  wider  scope 
for  usefulness  to  our  fellow-men. 

We  are  forced,  therefore,  to  direct  our  whole  energies 
to  the  production  of  more  wealth,  and  in  doing  so  we 
must  concentrate  on  machine  power  and  not  on  human 
energy.  This  will  enable  us  to  increase  wages  by  creat- 
ing a  larger  fund  out  of  which  to  pay  Labour — to  in- 
crease leisure  by  reducing  costs,  so  that  fewer  hours  of 
toil  are  required  to  produce  more  goods,  better  goods, 
and  cheaper  goods  by  an  ever-increasing  use  of  machine 
power,  so  that  the  worker  becomes,  as  he  was  intended  to 
be,  a  director  of  machinery  and  not  himself  a  machine 
or  part  of  a  machine.  The  man  must  be  master  and 
controller  of  the  machine,  and  not  the  machine  be  mas- 
ter and  so  swallow  up  the  mind  and  personality  of  the 
man. 


PROBLEM  OF  INDUSTRIAL  EFFICIENCY       13 

We  find  all  over  the  world,  in  the  semi-civilized  coun- 
tries as  well  as  in  the  most  highly  civilized,  that  wealth 
is  the  greatest,  wages  are  the  highest,  and  hours  of  la- 
bour are  the  shortest  where  capital  invested  in  machine 
power  is  the  greatest  per  head  of  the  people.  This  out- 
standing fact  has  yet  to  be  learned  by  both  employer- 
capitalist  and  employee-worker.  The  employer-capitalist 
must  get  rid  of  his  infatuation  for  the  error  that  low 
wages  and  long  hours  of  toil  for  the  employee-worker 
mean  cheaper  production  and  consequently  higher  prof- 
its. It  is  only  by  the  extended  use  of  machine  power 
and  the  prompt  adoption  of  every  labour-saving  device 
that  cheaper  production  can  be  achieved  by  obtaining  a 
greater  volume  of  products.  And  it  is  only  by  the  pay- 
ing of  the  highest  possible  rate  of  wages  to  the  employee- 
worker  for  the  fewest  possible  number  of  hours  that  an 
adequate  demand  for  this  increased  volume  of  products 
can  be  found.  Leisure  increases  wants,  whilst  over- 
fatigue  and  long  hours  decrease  wants.  The  British 
employee- worker  will  then  recognize  the  fallacy  of  re- 
striction of  output  as  a  means  to  social  betterment  for 
the  workers,  and  will  for  ever  discard  this  folly. 

Mr.  Gompers,  the  American  Labour  Leader,  has  told 
us  that  the  workman  in  the  United  States  abandoned  the 
fallacy  of  restriction  of  output  thirty  years  ago,  which 
was,  by  a  strange  coincidence,  about  the  very  period  the 
British  workman  first  began  to  adopt  extensively  "  ca' 
canny"  and  restriction  of  output;  and  since  1886  there 
has  been  a  steady  rise  in  the  production  per  head  of  the 
workers  in  the  United  States  and  an  equally  steady  re- 
duction in  the  production  per  head  of  the  workers  in 
the  United  Kingdom,  with  the  result,  as  shown  by  the 
census  of  production  issued  recently,  that  of  the  seven 
million  workers  in  Great  Britain,  four  million  were  en- 
gaged in  trades  yielding  a  net  annual  increased  value  of 


14  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

only  £75  to  £100  per  head  over  the  value  of  the  ma- 
terial used.  In  most  of  the  principal  industries  in  the 
United  States  the  output  per  worker  averages  from  three 
to  five  times  that  amount. 

We  have  to  reconsider  our  methods  and  change  all 
this.  The  power  and  ability  to  produce  by  means  of 
machinery  is  from  a  hundred  to  a  thousand  times  greater 
than  the  power  to  produce  by  hand  labour,  and  demands 
from  *he  man  less  fatigue.  Notwithstanding  the  enor- 
mous increase  in  machinery,  and  simultaneously  in  com- 
plexity and  intricacy  of  parts  of  machines,  the  workman 
always  finds  himself  master  of  his  machine — the  machine 
cannot  master  the  workman.  And  further,  the  better  our 
equipment  of  machinery,  the  better  and  more  intelligent 
our  workman  becomes.  This  is  shown  by  the  fact  that, 
however  high  the  type  of  machine  may  be,  man  can  al- 
ways improve  on  the  same,  so  thut  each  year  the  new  ma- 
chine shows  improvements  on  the  old  machine.  The  man 
who  can  best  effect  this  improvement  is  the  man  who 
works  at  the  machine.  He  knows  the  machine  he  works 
with  as  a  rider  knows  his  horse.  He  understands  its  pecu- 
liarities and  its  weaknesses,  and  gradually  comes  to  view 
it  almost  as  a  living  creature.  Then  why  do  we  not  get 
more  inventions  and  suggested  improvements  from  the 
man  working  the  machine?  The  reason  is  that  sugges- 
tions for  improvement  require  thought,  and  thought  re- 
quires leisure,  and  the  present  industrial  system  gives  no 
leisure.  To  provide  more  leisure,  it  can  be  proved  that 
men  properly  trained  to  their  task  and  to  working  to- 
gether can  accomplish  from  50  per  cent,  to  100  per  cent, 
more  work  than  the  same  number  of  ill-selected,  badly 
organized  men.  Similarly  the  man  working  with  ma- 
chinery; the  trained,  skilled,  unfatigued  worker  can  pro- 
duce a  larger  volume  of  product  than  the  fatigued  work- 
man. The  mastery  of  the  machine  can  only  be  accom- 


PROBLEM  OF  INDUSTRIAL  EFFICIENCY      15 

plished  by  development  of  high  character  as  well  as  high 
skill  in  the  employee-worker.  The  obtaining  of  the  most 
from  machines  requires  the  highest  intelligence  along 
with  highest  character,  and  so  we  tend  to  get  further 
from  the  brutes  and  nearer  to  the  angels.  Without  ma- 
chines, man  required  mere  brute  force  and  strength,  with 
relatively  little  skill  and  no  special  high  character  or 
moral  laws  to  guide  him.  The  drunken  or  debauched 
workman  is  incapable  of  running  a  modern  complicated 
machine  in  the  factory  or  a  modern  high-speed  locomo- 
tive. He  is  unable  to  keep  up  with  the  strain  that  ma- 
chine or  locomotive  makes  upon  him,  whilst  the  steady 
workman  of  character  is  complete  master  of  his  job  and 
his  machine.  The  whole  tendency  of  modern  machinery 
is~  to  improve  the  workman  whilst  increasing  his  wages 
and  reducing  his  hours  of  labour.  A  handloom  weaver 
might  be  semi-drunk  and  take  no  harm  at  his  work  be- 
yond loss  of  output.  A  man  driving  a  horse  and  cart  or 
carriage  may  be  half  drunk,  and  yet  his  horse  will  find 
home  in  safety  whilst  the  driver  nods  a  drunken  half- 
sleep.  But  not  so  the  modern  workman,  with  many  and 
delicate  intricate  looms  to  watch  and  keep  running,  nor 
the  man  on  the  footplate  of  the  express  mail-train  loco- 
motive. The  drunkard  would  be  an  impossibility  for 
these  modern  machines,  and  would  lack  that  nerve  and 
steadiness  of  eye  and  hand  essential  to  their  operation. 

The  modern  machine  knows  nothing  of  religion  or 
moral  laws,  yet  it  is  one  of  the  greatest  religious  and 
moral  teachers  the  world  has  produced  in  modern  times. 
However  far  and  wide  we  extend  mechanical  utilities 
and  machine  power,  we  come  finally  to  the  necessity  of 
providing  intelligent  and  careful  men  for  their  control 
and  running.  Machines  cannot  run  alone,  and  workmen 
of  skill,  high  character,  and  moral  conduct  are  essential 
to  successful  control.  Man  remains  man  and  machine 


16  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

remains  machine.  Therefore  we  may  look  to  the  future 
with  confidence.  All  the  tendencies  of  the  greater  use 
of  machinery  are  in  the  direction  of  improving  man. 
Machinery  properly  used  need  not  degrade  man,  but  is 
capable  of  raising  him  indefinitely. 

•Equally,  modern  industrial  conditions  improve  the 
employer-capitalist.  Modern  industrial  conditions  de- 
mand and  necessitate  an  employer  of  not  only  high  abil- 
ity, but  also  of  high  character. 

Can  employer-capitalists  and  employee-workers  so 
conduct  productive  and  distributive  industries,  so  work 
together,  so  adjust  themselves  to  new  ideals,  so  govern 
and  serve  the  Empire,  so,  in  brief,  review  their  own  pri- 
vate, selfish  ideas  on  the  lines  of  most  enlightened  self- 
interest  that  they  may  both  realize  the  truth  that  in  best 
serving  the  Empire  and  the  public  they  will  best  serve 
themselves?  There  never  was  a  greater  need  for  em- 
ployer-capitalist and  employee-worker  to  exercise  the 
wisest  and  most  enlightened  self-interest.  There  never 
was  such  an  opportunity  for  the  immediate  and  prompt 
exercise  of  a  far-sighted,  wise,  and  enlightened  policy. 
Narrow,  selfish  greed  and  cunning  on  either  side  would 
bring  this  Empire  and  its  peoples  to  ruin  and  disaster. 
The  future  of  civilization  and  of  our  Empire,  and  the 
future  of  our  race,  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  our 
children  and  our  children's  children,  will  depend  in  no 
small  degree  on  the  wisdom  of  our  employer-capitalists 
and  employee-workers,  in  whose  hands  now  and  after  the 
war  lie  the  guidance  and  control  of  our  policy. 


II 

THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

THERE  exists  to-day  profound  and  widespread  anti-capi- 
talist and  anti-Trade  Union  labour  prejudice  and  dis- 
trust. "  A  plague  on  both  your  houses  "  says  the  con- 
sumer, who  feels  uneasy  and  vaguely  suspicious  that  he 
is  not  well  and  truly  served  by  either.  And  with  this 
widespread  unrest  there  is  the  most  profound  ignorance 
of  the  very  rudiments  of  the  economics  of  production,  of 
profits,  and  of  wages. 

We  may  search,  with  painstaking  care  and  attention, 
through  the  present-day  writings  of  those  who  attempt  to 
deal  with  industrial  conditions  and  wages  and  hours  of 
work,  whether  the  writers  be  Socialists  or  Trades  Union- 
ists, but  we  shall  search  in  vain  for  any  recognition  of  the 
fact  that  the  economical  cost  of  production  and  volume 
of  product  are  the  all-important  factors,  or  any  reference 
to  the  fact  that  over  90  per  cent.,  and  possibly  even  over 
95  per  cent.,  of  the  products  of  labour  are  consumed  by 
the  employee-workers  themselves,  and  not  by  the 
employer-capitalists.  So  that  restriction  of  output, 
or  the  "  ca'  canny  "  policy,  can  only,  whatever  might  be 
the  rate  of  wages,  make  wages  nominal  by  reducing  their 
exchange  value  when  measured  in  terms  of  clothing, 
food,  and  shelter. 

At  this  present  moment  there  is  in  the  mind  of  many 
writers  and  speakers  the  most  shallow  and  dangerously 
wrong  views  as  to  the  patriotism,  during  war-time,  of  so- 
called  profits  of  capital  and  the  patriotism  of  demands 
for  higher  wages  of  labour.  It  is  not  easy  to  get  the 

17 


18  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

public  or  the  employee-worker  to  recognize  that  it  would 
be  the  reverse  of  patriotic — in  fact,  absolutely  ruinous 
to  the  national  well-being — for  the  employer-capitalist 
to  forgo  profits  during  war-time.  And  it  is  not  easy  to 
get  the  public  or  the  employer-capitalist  to  see  that  it 
would  equally  be  the  reverse  of  patriotic  for  the  em- 
ployee-worker to  waive  demands  for  higher  wages  dur- 
ing war-time.  vThe  economic  truth  is  that  unless  the 
employer-capitalist  be  able  to  make  reasonably  higher 
profits  during  war-time  than  during  peace-time,  and  the 
employee-worker  to  earn  reasonably  higher  wages  during 
war-time  than  during  peace-time — the  profits  to  enable 
the  employer-capitalist  to  expand  production  to  the  ut- 
most and  to  meet  post-war  contractions  and  losses,  and 
the  wages  to  enable  the  employee-worker  to  meet  the 
higher  cost  of  living,  and  also  the  increased  cost  of 
higher  living — it  would  be  impossible  to  maintain  the  in- 
dustries of  the  country  at  concert  pitch  during  the  war. 

In  short,  reasonable  and  fair,  full  profits  to  the  em- 
ployer-capitalist, and  reasonable,  generous,  and  full 
wages  to  the  employee-worker  during  war-time  are  es- 
sential to  the  maintenance  of  our  Empire's  stability  and 
to  prevent  widespread  national  and  business  prostration. 
How  to  conduct  our  industries,  how  to  handle  capital 
and  labour,  how  to  run  what  we  may  call  in  brief  the 
business  of  the  Empire  during  the  war,  is  one  of  the 
problems  of  the  war,  as  it  will  be  our  problem  after  the 
war  is  over. 

Can  we  bear  our  post-war  loads  and  carry  the  Empire 
after  the  war  with  its  trade  and  commerce  back  into  the 
calm  safety  of  prosperity?  We  can  only  do  so  pro- 
vided all  classes  and  both  sexes,  following  the  example 
set  us  by  our  King  and  Queen,  continue  to  make, 
after  the  war,  the  same  sacrifices  of  ease  or  comfort, 
and  continue  to  work  as  hard  and  with  the  same  spirit 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  19 

of  brotherhood  as  has  been  displayed  by  all  classes,  with- 
out exception,  during  the  war.  This  will  be  no  easy 
task;  but  we  can  and  must  face  it,  and,  facing  it 
promptly,  it  will  be  easier  to  accomplish  than  if  we  hesi- 
tate and  procrastinate.  Sound  principles  of  finance  and 
our  national  credit  will  necessitate  our  not  only  paying 
promptly  the  interest  on  our  War  Loans,  but  also  pro- 
viding for  the  repayment  of  the  loans  with  all  possible 
speed. 

Our  National  Debt  at  the  end  of  the  present  financial 
year,  1918-19,  we  are  told  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer, will  be  about  eight  thousand  millions  sterling. 
Our  crushing  burden  of  taxation  during  the  current 
financial  year  is  estimated  to  yield  about  nine  hundred 
millions  sterling.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  flower 
of  our  manhood  will  have  been  killed  in  battle  or  will 
have  died  of  war  diseases,  or  have  been  permanently 
maimed  or  crippled.  We  have  a  house  famine  actually 
with  us,  and  are  exerting  every  nerve  and  muscle  to 
prevent  a  food  famine  and  to  provide  munitions  of  war, 
ships  for  commerce,  and  ships  for  war,  submarines,  air- 
craft, and  all  known  weapons  of  war  for  the  destruction 
of  life  and  property.  Our  programme  of  social  reforms 
and  betterment  and  of  extended  education  is  a  long  and 
an  overdue  one. 

And  first  of  all  we  must  learn  the  most  serious  impor- 
tance of  the  ^oidance  of  waste — waste  of  child  life, 
waste  of  adult  life,  waste  of  energy,  waste  of  time, 
waste  of  opportunity,  and,  greatest  waste  of  all,  the 
appalling  waste  caused  by  over- fatigue  of  the  workers, 
resulting  in  inefficiency,  bad  health,  lost  time,  and  prema- 
ture decay  and  death.  • 

I     But  we  have  learned  much  during  the  last  three  years 

/on  the  subject  of    fatigue,   overwork,   and   excessively 

long  working  hours.  l  We  have  proved  conclusively  that 


20  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

prolonged  hours  of  toil,  with  resulting  excessive  fatigue, 
produce,  after  a  certain  point,  actually  smaller  results  in 
quantity,  quality,  and  value  than  can  be  produced  in 
fewer  hours  when  there  is  an  entire  absence  of  over- 
strain or  fatigue.  Fortunately,  however,  this  logical 
effect  of  over-long  hours  of  continuous  work  does  not 
/apply,  except  to  a  very  limited  extent,  to  the  case  of 
machinery  and  mechanical  utilities.  True,  even  machin- 
ery must  have  times  of  rest  for  cleaning,  overhauling, 
repairs,  and  lubrication;  but  these  stoppages  are  not 
serious,  and  require  only  slight  intervals  that  are  easily 
arranged  for.  Therefore,  as  we  shall  require  an  enor- 
mously increased  output  of  goods  to  replenish  stocks 
that  have  been  allowed  to  run  down,  both  for  our  home 
and  export  trade,  and  as  we  have  the  machinery  avail- 
able, and  which  hitherto  in  most  industries  has  been  run 
for  ,only  48  hours  per  week,  a  solution  of  this  one  of 
our  difficulties  can  be  best  and  most  readily  found  by 
working  our  machinery  for  more  hours  and  our  men 
.and  women  for  fewer  hours. 

We  must  have  a  six-hour  working  day  for  men  and 
women,  and  by  means  of  six-hour  shifts  for  men  and 
women  we  must  work  our  machinery  twelve,  eighteen,  or 
twenty-four  hours  per  day. 

We  have  in  the  United  Kingdom  the  finest  type  of 
work  people  in  the  human  race — second  to  none  in  the 
whole  world.  If  we  are  to  make  the  most  of  this  rare 
humanity,  and  have  more  of  the  inventions  to  which  I 
have  alluded,  there  must  be  some  change  in  our  indus- 
trial system  of  hours  of  working.  We  must  remember 
the  deadening  effect  of  general  factory  life.  From  four- 
teen years  of  age  to  seventy  years  of  age  is  a  long  life- 
span,  and  if  you  consider  the  conditions  of  attending, 
for  eight  hours  a  day,  the  same  automatic  machinery  and 
following  the  same  routine,  with  its  continual  deadly, 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  21 

monotonous  round  of  toil,  those  of  us  whose  employment 
is  varied  will  realize  how  this  bites  into  the  soul  of  a 
man  or  woman  and  tends  to  corrode  it.  There  is  not 
that  variety  which  human  life  thrives  on.  The  horses 
of  the  coaches  which  went  out  of  London  along  the  level 
Slough  and  Windsor  road  were  done  up  and  had  to  be 
sold  long  before  the  horses  that  went  a  similar  distance 
through  Highgate,  where  they  climbed  the  hill  to  the 
summit  and  then  trotted  down  into  the  valleys  with 
collars  loose.  And  so  also  those  who  work  in  factories 
with  unbroken  monotony  till  tired  and  weary,  only  pre- 
paring by  rest  and  sleep  for  the  beginning  of  another 
similar  dull  day,  must  inevitably  wear  out  at  a  premature 
age  and  become  enfeebled  under  such  conditions. 

Of  all  welfare  work  in  factories,  a  proper  apportion- 
ment of  the  time  is  the  one  that  will  yield  the  best  re- 
sults, and  is  the  problem  most  pressing  for  solution.  Let 
us  take  as  an  illustration  of  our  meaning,  the  position 
with  regard  to  London  and  overcrowding.  We  know  the 
slums  of  London  and  the  overcrowding  of  London;  but 
do  we  realize  that  the  Metropolitan  area,  with  its  7J4 
millions  of  people,  covers  the  extensive  area  of  450,000 
acres  of  ground?  If,  therefore,  we  had  planned  for  build- 
ing under  ideal  conditions  of  some  ten  houses  to  the 
acre  over  the  whole  of  this  Metropolitan  area,  instead  of 
having,  as  we  have  at  present,  badly  packed  slum  districts 
in  some  quarters  and  so  on,  and  of  badly  housing  only 
7J4  millions  of  people,  we  could  in  that  area  have  pro- 
vided for  housing  2.2.^/2  millions  of  people,  three  times  the 
number,  with  ideal  surroundings  for  comfort  and  happi- 
ness. It  is  merely  a  case  of  bad  packing.  Now,  I  believe 
this  is  not  an  unfair  parallel  for  me  to  take  with  regard 
to  working  hours.  We  can  get  into  a  working  day  of 
six  hours  all  the  work  we  are  capable  of  when  that  work 
is  monotonous — attending  machinery  and  general  work 


22  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

in  a  factory.    To  get  the  work  condensed  into  six  hours 
[would  enable  us  to  produce  not  only  everything  that  we 
require,  but  to  produce  it  without  fatigue. 

Not  only  can  we  produce,  when  all  ranks  and  all  classes 
of  both  sexes  are  workers  for  six  hours  each  day  for 
six  days  each  week,  all  the  ships,  machinery,  factories, 
houses,  and  goods  we  require  both  for  home  require- 
ments and  for  exchange  for  raw  materials  through  our 
export  markets,  but  the  houses  can  be  built  in  beautiful 
garden  suburbs;  we  can  provide  adequately^  for  educa- 
tion, mental  and  physical,  and  military  training  for  na- 
tional defence.  In  addition,  all  being  workers,  our  bur- 
den of  taxation  will — being  then  wisely  laid  on  the 
wealth  produced — be  borne  by  all  without  impoverish- 
ment or  oppression  of  any.  The  only  wise,  sane  basis  of 
taxation  is  to  avoid  all  tariffs  on  goods  except  luxuries, 
and  then  solely  for  revenue  purposes,  and  to  raise  further 
revenue  mainly  by  graduated  income  tax  and  death 
duties.  The  only  possible  way  to  produce  wealth  is  by 
the  labour  of  all  classes  working  shoulder  to  shoulder 
together  in  co-partnership  during  reasonable  hours  and 
without  individual  over- fatigue  or  overwork.  There 
must  be  neither  idle  overfed  and  underworked  men  or 
women  nor  overworked,  underfed  men  or  women.  At 
has  been  estimated  that  less  than  half  of  our  total  popu- 
lation are  actual  producers  of  wealth,  but  if  we  are,  as  a 
nation,  to  make  good  the  wastage  "of  this  war  and  to 
maintain  our  position  amongst  the  nations  of  the  world 
after  we  have  won  complete  victory  and  the  uncondi- 
tional surrender  of  our  enemies,  then  it  will  require  that 
all  able-bodied  men  and  women  from  schoolage  to 
dotage,  of  all  ranks  and  stations,  shall  be  workers  for  six 
hours  each  day  for  six  days  each  week.  There  will  be 
no  place  in  the  whole  British  Empire  for  the  idle  rich  or 
the  idle  or  "  ca'  canny  "  poor.  We  cannot  consent  as  a 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  23 

nation  to  there  being  any  loafers,  nor  can  the  British 
Empire,  if  it  is  to  continue  to  exist,  become  a  loafer's 
paradise. 

But  the  adoption  simultaneously,  in  all  industries  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  of  a  six-hour  working  day  is  abso- 
lutely impossible  and  impracticable.  As  with  the  acorn 
that  produces  the  British  oak,  the  growth  of  the  six-hour 
day  movement  will  be  slow,  but  none  the  less  sure.  It 
can  only  be  adopted  in  such  industries  as  those  in  which  / 
it  will,  by  its  application,  give  lower  costs  of  production  •. 
by  working  machinery  for  longer  hours  and  humanity,  in  ' 
two  or  more  shifts,  for  fewer  hours. ,  The  six-hour  day, 
for  instance,  is  not  immediately  applicable  to  agricul- 
ture, because  at  present  there  is  little  labour-saving  ma- 
chinery used  in  agriculture.  But  already  steam  and 
petrol  tractors  for  ploughing,  cultivation,  seed-sowing, 
harvesting,  and  haulage  are  each  succeeding  year  being 
more  and  more  used,  and  it  is  quite  evident  that  the  time 
will  come  when  a  six-hour  day  and  two  shifts  of  work- 
men will  be  the  most  profitable  and  most  economical 
employment  for  humanity  in  agriculture. 

It  is  already  applicable  without  loss  to  all  those  indus- 
tries in  which  the  cost  of  production  in  overhead  charges 
is  equal  in  amount  to  the  cost  of  wages.  But  in  most 
workshops  and  factories  the  cost  of  production  in  the 
form  of  overhead  charges  is  double  or  more  the  cost  of 
wages.  In  all  these  latter  the  six-hour  day  can  be  ap- 
plied forthwith  with  enormous  gains  in  cost  of  pro- 
duction, provided  the  supply  of  raw  material  and  of 
labour  is  available  and  the  demand  for  products 
exists. 

The  six-hour  day  is  already  a  most  urgent  and  much- 
needed  condition  of  working  hours  in  all  industries 
where  women  and  girls  are  employed*  It  must  be  re- 
membered that  a  large  proportion  of  women  engaged  in 


24  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

industries,  whether  married  or  single,  have,  unlike  their 
fathers  and  brothers,  some  housework  to  do  as  well  as 
their  work  in  industrial  employment.  And  these  hours 
of  housework  and  the  resulting  fatigue  must  be  remem- 
bered when  considering  their  hours  of  work  in  the  fac- 
tory, workshop,  or  office. 

In  the  textile  industries  and  all  others  where  the  cost 
of  overhead  charges,  such  as  interest  on  capital,  salaries 
of  partners  and  managers,  repairs  and  renewals,  depre- 
ciation, rates  and  taxes  (omitting  all  taxes  on  income  or 
profits)  is  about  equal  to  the  cost  for  weekly  wages,  the 
change  from  a  48-hour  week  to  a  72 -hour  week  of  two 
shifts  of  36  hours  each  would  affect  the  cost  of  produc- 
tion somewhat  as  follows : 

Working  a  48-hour  week  and  assuming  that  the  prod- 
uct was  1,000  items  per  week  at  a  cost  of  £  1,000  per 
week  for  overhead  charges  and  of  £1,000  per  week  for 
wages,  the  resulting  total  cost  of  production  per  item, 
exclusive  of  raw  material  and  such  other  proportionate 
costs  as  would  always  be  in  exact  relation  to  volume  pro- 
duced, would  be  405.  per  item. 

If  such  textile  or  other  factories  adopted  the  six-hour 
working  day  system  they  would  work  72  hours  per  week 
in  two  shifts  of  36  hours  each  shift  per  week,  and  as- 
suming that  no  increase  of  production  per  hour  worked 
was  achieved,  which  need  not  necessarily  be  the  case,  and 
that  the  wages  paid  for  a  36-hour  week  were  the  same 
as  for  a  48-hour  week,  which  must  always  necessarily 
be  the  case,  then  the  resulting  product  would  be  1,500 
items.  The  cost  of  production  for  overhead  charges 
would  not  be  seriously  affected,  as  machinery"  almost 
invariably  becomes  obsolete  before  it  is  worn  out,  and 
fixed  capital  in  plant,  buildings,  and  machinery  would  be 
the  same,  the  cost  of  overhead  charges  would  again  be 
£  i  ,000,  but  the  cost  for  wages  would  now  be  £  2,000, 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  25 

br  a  total  of  £3,000  for  1,500  items,  or  again  a  cost,  ex- 
clusive of  raw  materials,  of  403.  per  item. 

But  supposing,  as  one  is  justified  in  doing  by  past  and 
present  experience,  that  the  un fatigued  worker  could 
produce  as  much  in  six  hours  as  formerly  was  produced 
in  eight  hours — and  we  will  examine  into  this  later  on — 
then  the  figures  as  to  cost  of  production  would  be  some- 
what the  following,  and  show  a  great  gain  in  economical 
production:  2,000  items  would  then  be  produced  in  a 
72-hour  week  of  two  shifts  of  ,36  hours  each  shift  at  a 
cost  of  £1,000  for  overhead  charges  and  of  £2,006 
for  wages,  a  total  of  £3,000,  or  of  305.  per  item,  which 
would  be  a  reduction  of  25  per  cent,  on  cost  of  produc- 
tion compared  with  cost  when  working  a  48-hour  week. 
This  economy  might  wisely  be  used,  partly  in  increased 
payment  to  the  workers  by  means  of  a  bonus  on  produc- 
tion in  addition  to  wages,  which  wages  would  be  the 
same  for  36  hours  as  formerly  for  48  hours,  and  the 
balance  to  the  consumer  in  reduced  selling  price  of  the 
product — so  that  practically  the  whole  of  the  benefits 
of  economy  of  production  would  go  to  the  workers  first 
directly  in  shorter  hours  of  labour  with  higher  total 
earnings  as  wages  and  bonus,  and  afterwards  as  con- 
sumers in  lower  cost  of  living. 

The  employer-capitalist  would  not  need  to  share  in  this 
economy  of  production,  because  his  share  would  come 
to  him  on  his  increased  production  and  quicker  turnover 
of  capital,  with  resulting  increase  in  dividend-earning 
capacity. 

Itjs  clear  from  this  rough  and  ready  calculation  that 
in  all  industries  where  overhead  charges  exceed  the  por- 
tion of  cost  of  production  paid  as  wages  to  the  worker, 
the  advantages  would  be  greater  in  proportion  to  the 
ratio  of  increase  in  cost  of  overhead  charges.  And 
equally  it  is  clear  that  where  the  cost  of  overhead  charges 


26  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT' 

is  less  than  the  portion  of  the  cost  of  production  paid  as 
wages,  there  would  be  a  resulting  increase  in  cost  of 
production  in  proportion  to  the  ratio  that  the  lesser  cost 
of  overhead  charges  bore  to  the  cost  paid  as  wages,  and 
that  a  point  would  be  reached  at  which  the  immedi- 
ate adoption  of  a  7 2-hour  working  week  in  two 
shifts  of  36  hours  each  would  be  impossible  and  im- 
practicable. 

And  now  as  to  the  possibility  of  the  unfatigued  worker 
producing  as  much  in  a  36-hour  week  as  in  a  48-hour 
week,  let  us  refer  to  the  experience  of  our  forefathers 
as  recorded  in  the  debates  in  Parliament  during  the  pass- 
ing of  the  Ten  Hours  and  other  Bills,  and  let  us  remem- 
ber also  that  nowadays,  with  more  or  less  automatic 
machinery,  increased  production  per  hour  by  the  work- 
ers can  be  effected  in  two  ways :  firstly,  by  the  unfatigued 
workers'  increased  efficiency,  and  secondly,  by  the  un- 
fatigued and  alert  workers  being  able  to  attend  to  a 
greater  number  of  machines. 

At  this  stage  some  may  be  asking  themselves,  Why 
not  work  a  96-hour  week  in  two  shifts  of  48  hours  each? 
and  in  answer  to  this  we  can  apply  the  experience  of 
Russia  cited  by  Mr.  Romaine  Callender  in  a  debate  in 
the  House  of  Commons  on  the  Factory  Acts  Amendment 
Bill  in  1874.  He  said: — 

The  hours  worked  in  Russia  were  of  extraordinary  dura- 
tion— one  case  being  cited  when,  by  a  double  shift  of 
workers,  132  hours  were  made  per  week,  yet  in  this  case 
the  production  per  spindle  was  barely  more  than  that  of 
an  English  mill  working  60  hours. 


Mr.  Baxter,  in  an  adjourned  debate  on  the  same  Bill, 
also  referring  to  the  practice  in  Scotland  at  that  time  of 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  27 

working  twelve  hours,  and  when  the  trade  was  good 
some  fourteen  or  fifteen  hours  a  day  for  a  part  of  the 
week,  said : — 

Now,  I  was  so  convinced  that  this  could  not  be  a  good 
system,  that  twelve  years  ago  I  issued  a  peremptory  order 
that  no  man  in  my  employ  should  under  any  pretext  what- 
ever be  permitted  to  work  in  those  premises  for  more  than 
ten  hours  a  day.  And  what  was  the  consequence?  The 
very  first  year — and  it  has  continued  ever  since — we  turned 
out  more  bales  in  the  ten  hours  than  ever  we  had  done  in 
twelve  or  fifteen  hours. 

In  the  same  debate  Mr.  Hermon,  who  was,  I  believe, 
Member  for  Preston,  stated : — 

There  was  a  very  strong  opposition  to  the  Sixty  Hours 
Bill,  but  it  might  now  be  safely  said  that  there  was  no 
manufacturer  who  wished  to  repeal  it.  He  entirely  dis- 
agreed with  the  Commissioners  when  they  said  that  by 
giving  more  time  in  the  evening  to  the  operatives  there 
would  be  an  increase  in  debauchery.  No  such  effect  had 
followed  from  the  Ten  Hours  Bill,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
as  soon  as  it  passed,  the  operatives  had  improved  their 
position  socially,  mentally,  and  educationally,  while  it 
had  advanced  a  most  important  branch  of  national  in- 
dustry. 

It  is  well  known  in  the  trade  that  more  bad  work  accumu- 
lated during  the  last  half-hour  or  hour  than  during  the 
whole  of  the  day.  During  this  time  a  drowsiness  crept  over 
the  factory  hands,  so  that  they  became  themselves  like 
machines,  and  almost  all  the  disputes  and  unpleasantness 
that  occurred  during  the  day  had  their  source  in  the  present 
prolonged  hours  of  labour. 


28  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

Mr.  Mundella,  speaking  towards  the  end  of  the  debate, 
said : — 

The  Hon.  Gentleman  (Mr.  Fawcett)  contended  that  if  the 
working  hours  were  reduced  6  per  cent,  the  outcome  would 
be  reduced  in  the  same  proportion  unless  the  machinery 
or  its  rate  of  speed  were  increased.  That  was,  however, 
an  argument  which  was  answered  by  Mr.  Hugh  Mason, 
who,  after  he  had  reduced  the  hours  of  labour  without 
adding  a  single  revolution  to  the  speed  of  his  motive  power, 
declared  that  he  had  not  turned  out  a  breadth  less  in  the 
year  after  he  had  made  the  change  as  compared  with  that 
which  preceded  it. 

Miss  Victorine  Jeans,  in  her  Cobden  Club  Prize 
Essay  entitled  Factory  Act  Legislation:  Its  Indus- 
trial and  Commercial  Effects,  Actual  and  Prospective, 
states : — 

If  we  had  to  sum  up  in  a  single  sentence  the  general  effect 
of  the  Factory  Acts  on  the  textile  manufactures,  we  should 
say  that  the  legislation  tended  to  enforce  everywhere  the 
principles  of  the  selection  of  the  fittest;  in  other  words,  it 
helped  to  bring  about  the  fittest  use  of  capital,  of  invention, 
and  of  human  skill  and  energy,  and  therefore  it  did  not 
diminish  production  or  lower  wages,  neither  probably  did 
it  lead  to  a  fall  in  profits  nor  a  permanent  loss  of  foreign 
trade.  .  .  . 

No  nation  can  long  maintain  a  commercial  supremacy 
unless  its  labouring  class  is  strong  and  intelligent. 

There  are  those  who  will  assert  to-day,  as  Mr.  Webb  does, 
that  the  English  cotton-spinner  finds  competition  keenest, 
not  where  the  hours  of  work  are  longest,  as  in  Russia  and 
India,  but  where  they  are  shortest,  as  in  Massachusetts. 
Certain  it  is  that  the  most  perfect  machinery,  the  largest 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  29 

system  of  production,  the  lowest  amount  of  waste  time,  are 
all  features  characteristic  of  those  industries  and  those 
countries  where  the  shortest  working  day  obtains. 

But  our  greatest  encouragement  and  inspiration  come 
from  reading  the  various  speeches  of  the  late  Lord 
Shaftesbury  (then  Lord  Ashley),  when  speaking  in  Par- 
liament on  the  Ten  Hours  Bill.  The  Government  of  the 
day  resisted  the  evidence  he  brought  forward  to  show 
that  the  hours  of  labour  could  be  reduced  without  eco- 
nomic loss.  On  May  10,  1844,  he  spoke  to  the  House 
as  follows : — 

Here  then  springs  up  a  curious  and  important  problem 
for  solution  by  this  House — no,  not  by  this  House,  for 
they  have  already  resolved  it — but  for  Her  Majesty's  Gov- 
ernment, who  deny  our  conclusions  and  oppose  themselves 
to  the  thrice-recorded  wishes  of  the  British  Empire.  Which 
is  the  preferable  condition  for  the  people — high  wages  with 
privation  of  social  and  domestic  enjoyment,  without  the 
means  of  knowledge  or  the  opportunities  of  virtue,  acquir- 
ing ways  which  they  waste  through  ignorance  of  household 
economy,  and  placed  in  a  state  of  moral  and  physical 
deterioration;  or  lower  earnings  with  increased  advantages 
for  mental  improvement  and  bodily  health — for  the  under- 
standing and  performance  of  those  duties  which  now  they 
either  know  not  or  neglect;  for  obtaining  the  humble  but 
necessary  accomplishments  of  domestic  life  and  cultivating 
its  best  affections?  Clouds  of  witnesses  attest  these  things 
— clergy,  ministers  of  every  persuasion,  doctors,  master- 
manufacturers,  and  operatives  have  given,  and  are  ready 
to  give  again,  the  most  conclusive  evidence,  but  Her 
Majesty's  Ministers  refuse  to  listen,  and  will  neither  adopt 
the  remedy  we  are  proposing  nor  assist  us  with  one  of 
their  own. 


30  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

Speaking  sixteen  years  afterwards  as  Lord  Shaftes- 
bury  in  the  Town  Hall,  Manchester,  on  October  6,  1866, 
he  referred  to  the  agitation  for  the  Ten  Hours  Bill  and 
to  the  success  of  the  workers  in  carrying  their  point,  and 
the  effects  on  the  workers  themselves  as  well  as  on  the 
nation  resulting  therefrom.  He  recalled  the  attitude  the 
workers  had  taken  up  during  the  agitation.  They  had 
said : — 

"  We  are  standing  for  the  limitation  of  the  hours  of 
labour  as  our  great  right,  as  the  charter  of  our  liberties; 
give  us  but  that  and  you  will  never1  hear  of  sedition  in 
Lancashire ;  you  will  never  hear  of  discontent ;  you  will  see 
that  we  are  among  the  most  loyal  of  Her  Majesty's  sub- 
jects, and  we  shall  be  both  able  and  willing  to  discharge 
every  duty  that  can  become  a  citizen.  No  more  (they  had 
said)  shall  you  hear  of  disturbances  in  Lancashire  if  once 
that  right  is  conceded,  if  once  our  just  demands  are  acknowl- 
edged." 

Speaking  of  the  better  times,  Lord  Shaftesbury  con- 
tinued : — 

I  cannot  but  congratulate  you  from  the  very  bottom  of 
my  heart,  and  I  know  you  will  congratulate  me  that  we  are 
met  under  such  favourable  auspices.  We  are  collected  to- 
gether in  this  room,  not  to  talk  of  grievances,  nor  to  devise 
methods  for  the  purpose  of  removing  them — not  to  talk  of 
what  we  shall  do,  nor  of  what  we  fear ;  but  simply  and  solely 
to  exchange  congratulations  that  we  have,  by  the  blessing 
of  God,  attained  to  the  present  condition  of  things,  and 
that  the  whole  of  this  great  country  is  working  in  perfect 
harmony,  men  with  masters  and  masters  with  men. 

There  is  no  sour  feeling,  no  angry  heart,  no  difficulty 
existing  among  them. 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  31 

And  how  was  this  achieved?  Recollect  this  was 
achieved  without  violence,  without  menace,  without 
strikes,  without  resort  to  any  extraordinary  or  illicit 
means. 

God's  blessing  rested  upon  so  peaceful  a  course;  and 
when  you  obtained  your  triumph,  when  you  gained  your 
end,  I  tell  you  I  think  in  no  one  part  of  your  career,  in  all 
the  long  agitation  we  had,  did  you  exhibit  a  more  generous 
spirit,  a  truer  policy,  a  more  thorough  development  of  that 
which  is  the  greatest  blessing  man  can  have — common  sense, 
than  the  way  in  which  you  took  your  victory,  and  the  way  in 
which  you  acknowledged  your  triumph.  There  was  no 
boasting,  there  was  no  paean,  no  crowing  of  cocks,  no  cry  of 
victory,  no  desire  to  exult,  and  no  saying  to  the  masters: 
"  We  have  carried  the  victory  and  will  make  you  feel  you 
are  under  our  feet."  On  the  contrary,  you  said :  "  We 
have  been  enemies,  but  let  us  now  be  friends.  We  have 
come  now  to  the  grand  point ;  you  may  fancy  you  may  lose, 
but  only  give  us  a  fair  chance,  only  meet  us  with  an  open 
heart  and  generous  treatment,  and  you  will  find  that  when 
worked  out  the  issue  will  be  quite  as  beneficial  to  yourselves 
as  it  is  to  the  operatives." 

You  have  that  statement  from  the  Chairman,  who  from 
his  own  experience  says  that  the  measure  has  been  beneficial 
alike  to  master  and  man,  to  employers  and  employed;  and 
so  it  is,  and  in  all  great  works  of  this  kind,  in  which  the 
real  rights  of  mankind  are  concerned,  in  which  the  physical 
and  moral  interests  of  the  human  race  are  in  jeopardy, 
in  all  matters  of  the  kind,  depend  upon  it,  the  truer  economy 
is  justice  and  humanity,  and  when  you  have  achieved  the 
triumph  the  truer  wisdom  is  to  say,  "  We  forget  the  past ; 
we  have  been  enemies,  but  for  God's  sake  let  us  be  friends ; 
we  have  in  time  to  prepare  ourselves  for  eternity:  let  us 
have  no  feuds,  no  differences,  but  let  us  join  hands  and  go 
forward,  and  God  will  .bless  the  issue." 


32  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

And  coming  down  to  modern  times,  experience  still 
demonstrates  that  working  shorter  hours  with  lessened 
fatigue  does  not  reduce  output,  but  generally,  and  with 
very  few  exceptions,  tends  to  increase  output. 

The  Report  of  Dr.  Vernon  on  the  Health  of  Munition 
Workers  gives  facts  which  will  remove  any  doubt  exist- 
ing in  the  mind  of  any  one  as  to  the  six-hour  working 
day.  In  that  Report  he  states  that  from  experiments 
spread  over  thirteen  and  a  half  months  upon  the  output 
of  workers  making  fuses,  a  reduction  of  working  hours 
was  associated  with  an  increase  of  production,  both 
relative  and  absolute.  Hours  of  work  were  changed  first 
from  a  twelve-hour  day  to  a  ten-hour  day,  and  Sunday 
work  abolished.  A  group  of  women  making  aluminium 
fuse  bodies  provided  the  following  results:  A  twelve- 
hour  nominal  day,  after  deducting  lost  time,  making 
eleven  hours  net,  yielded  100  articles,  say,  per  hour,  and 
100  totals,  say,  per  week.  A  ten-hour  nominal  day,  after 
deducting  lost  time,  making  nine  hours  net,  yielded  134 
articles  per  hour  and  in  totals  per  week.  A  nominal 
eight  and  a  half-hour  day,  after  deducting  lost  time, 
making  a  seven  and  a  half -hour  day  net,  yielded  158 
articles  per  hour  and  109  totals  per  week,  thus  proving 
that  an  eight  and  a  half -hour  working  day,  or  52-hour 
week,  yielded  more  in  products,  both  per  hour  and  per 
week,  than  a  twelve-hour  day  or  72-hour  week,  calcu- 
lated either  per  hour  or  per  week. 

From  other  reports  also  that  have  been  issued  since 
the  war  began  on  fatigue  of  munition  workers,  we  find 
this  astonishing  fact — that  a  larger  output,  not  only  per 
hour  but  per  weel^,  has  been  made  when  fewer  hours 
have  been  worked.  Recently  an  employer  stated  that  in 
the  early  days  of  the  war  the  nominal  hours  in  his  fac- 
tory were  53  for  the  women;  and  he  was  staggered  to 
find  that  the  women  were  losing  an  average  of  14  hours 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  33 

each  per  week.  Fourteen  hours  a  week  was  the  average 
lost  time  for  each  woman,  bringing  the  actual  average 
time  worked  by  each  down  to  39  hours,  and  he  said : 
"  Oh,  this  won't  do ;  we  will  let  the  women  come  an  hour 
later  in  the  mornings,  and  we  will  let  them  go  an  hour 
earlier  in  the  evenings,"  making  twelve  hours  a  week 
reduction.  So  he  made  the  hours  41  ^  week,  and  then  he 
found  that  the  lost  time  averaged  one  hour  per  woman 
per  week;  therefore,  they  were  making  40  hours  instead 
of  39  as  previously.  But  he  found,  in  addition,  that  in 
the  40  hours  that  they  now  worked — this  was  after  de- 
ducting lost  time — he  had  an  increase  in  the  output  in 
the  week  of  44  per  cent. 

Government  reports  repeat  over  and  over  again,  from 
definite  experiments,  that  in  a  reasonable  number  of 
hours  the  human  being  turns  out  its  maximum  output. 
Fatigue  the  human  being  one  day,  let  the  man  or  woman 
come  fatigued  to  work  the  following  day,  and  so  on, 
and  after  two  or  three  days  the  output  goes  down,  down, 
down,  and  is  continually  falling.  Let  the  human  being 
work  no  harder  each  day  than  the  body  can  accomplish 
without  fatigue,  and  he  or  she  will  come  again  fresh 
the  next  day;  and  the  output  will  increase  and  increase. 
And  it  has  been  found  that  the  increased  output  by  work- 
ing a  reasona5Te~"number  of  hours  varied,  according  to 
the  industry,  from  50  per  cent,  to  120  per  cent.,  and 
the  50  per  cent.,  it  will  be  seen,  agrees  very  nearly  with 
the  figures  given  in  the  above  record.  Therefore,  it  is 
not  difficult  to  imagine  that  with  two  shifts  working 
six  hours  each  shift,  the  output  might  go  up 
33  J-3  Per  cent-  per  hour,  and  so  give  the  same  out- 
put in  a  36-hour  week  as  previously  in  a  48-hour 
week. 

Sir  Robert  Hadfield,  of  Sheffield,  stated  (1917),  in 
the  course  of  an  interview : — 


34  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

At  our  plants  we  have  reduced  working  hours  with  that 
largely  beneficial  result  which  seems  to  be  inevitable.  It  has 
become  clear  that  this  procedure  is  even  better  business  than 
it  is  humanity.  Shorter  hours  make  good  men  better,  and 
bring  the  medium  workman  up  to  something  higher  than  the 
old-time  average.  The  hostility  of  the  men  to  various  pro- 
gressive things  was  as  unfailing  as,  for  instance,  their 
opposition  to  labour-saving  machinery.  Now  they  have 
learned  that  the  better  the  tools  the  better  the  workman,  and 
that  the  better  the  workman  the  better  his  pay. 

The  fact  that  workmen  are  not  themselves  machines  is 
not  yet  appreciated  in  its  full  value. 

Mr.  Cecil  Walton,  of  Glasgow,  than  whom  there  is  no 
one  who  has  a  wider  experience  or  speaks  with  greater 
authority  on  the  subject  of  hours,  fatigue,  and  output, 
has  stated  in  an  address  given  in  Glasgow  as  follows : — 

There  is  only  one  way  of  reducing  hours  of  a  working 
day,  and  that  is  by  increased  production.  Any  attempt  to 
shorten  the  working  day  without  this  must  end  in  national 
failure. 

He  cites  the  following  amongst  many  other  proofs  of 
the  possibility  of  greatly  increasing  output  and  greatly 
reducing  hours : — 

A  factory  producing  15,000  items  a  week  was  divided 
into  six  units  of  machinery,  each  unit  producing  2,500 
items  per  week.  It  was  decided  during  1917  to  transfer 
some  of  these  units  of  machinery  to  another  factory  in 
another  part  of  the  country,  and  to  do  this  in  one  complete 
unit  of  machinery  at  one  time,  and  to  introduce  a  bonus 
on  output  arrangement  with  the  operators.  After  removal 
of  the  first  unit  it  was  found  that  the  remaining  five  units 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  35 

still  produced  15,000  items  a  week.  The  second,  third,  and 
fourth  unit  were  similarly  removed,  leaving  only  two  units 
of  machinery,  and  these  again  and  alone  produced  15,000 
items  per  week. 

And  again  Mr.  Walton  has  stated : — 

If  we  turn  to  the  authorities  on  the  subject  and  study  the 
figures  as  given  us  with  regard  to  output  per  head  of  our 
industrial  armies,  we  are  staggered  to  find  that  Germany 
and  America  produce  per  worker  in  the  twenty-six  princi- 
pal industries  something  like  five  times  as  much  as  we 
do.  This  sounds  a  terrible  indictment,  and  it  is.  But  if 
we  study  the  question  closer  still,  we  find  it  is  not  a  disaster 
we  cannot  overcome.  Their  industrial  efficiency  is  below 
what  it  ought  to  be,  and  although  our  own  industrial  effi- 
ciency is  lower,  still  we  can  so  improve  our  efficiency  as  to 
bring  ourselves  easily  in  advance  of  either  the  German  or 
American  scale  of  industrial  efficiency. 

He  then  proceeds  to  refer  to  the  economy  and  in- 
creased efficiency  to  be  achieved  by  one  only  of  the  many 
changes  possible  in  our  industrial  operation — that  con- 
templated in  the  "  All  Electric  "  Scheme,1  by  which  it  is 
shown  that  we  are  at  present  paying  wages  to  at  least 
one-half  our  industrial  population  for  producing  waste. 
It  is  claimed  that  by  the  introduction  of  such  a  scheme 
and  the  transfer  of  these  producers  of  waste  into  the 
ranks  of  producers  of  essentials,  we  can  reduce  the 
working  hours  of  all  workers  by  50  per  cent,  without 

1  By  the  so-called  "  All  Electric "  Scheme  it  is  proposed  to  burn 
the  coal  at  the  pit  mouth,  thus  saving  transport  on  rails  to  house 
or  factory  or  locomotive,  recovering  the  by-products  for  fertilizers, 
aniline  dyes,  and  coke,  and  using  the  gas  in  internal  combustion 
engines  for  generation  of  electricity,  to  be  conveyed  by  truck, 
cables,  and  wires  to  wherever  required. 


36  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

reducing  wages  or  increasing  costs.  So  that  the  25  per 
cent,  reduction  of  hours  involved  in  the  scheme  of  a 
six-hour  day  can  then  become  universal  with  increased 
wages  to  the  workers  and  reduced  selling  prices  to  the 
consumer.  He  concludes  with  the  deduction  that  this  is 
a  clean-cut  proposition  for  which  the  nation  should  strive, 
and  that  he  is  quite  convinced  that  by  intensive  produc- 
tion without  fatigue  in  fewer  hours  we  can  greatly  in- 
crease our  production. 

But  whilst  under  the  scheme  for  a  six-hour  day  the 
employee-workers  would  be  working  only  for  six  hours 
each  day,  the  machinery  would  be  working  for  twelve, 
eighteen,  or  twenty-four  hours  each  day,  with  resulting 
enormous  increase  in  production  at  reduced  cost. 

We  need  not  fear  too  slow  an  adoption  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  economy  of  production — our  fears  are  of  too 
hasty  adoption  before  supplies  of  raw  materials,  supplies 
of  workers  required  for  increased  production  are  avail- 
able, as  well  as  increased  demand  sufficient  to  absorb  all 
increased  production.  We  are  not  likely  in  any  case  to 
move  as  slowly  towards  adoption  as  was  the  movement 
towards  the  Ten  Hours  Bill,  which  was  first  proposed 
in  Parliament  in  1802,  and  only  finally  carried  by  Lord 
Ashley  through  Parliament  in  1850. 

It  would  be  useless  to  increase  the  output  of  all  the 
factories  in  the  United  Kingdom  if  we  had  no  purchas- 
ers who  could  absorb  the  increased  output.  There  are 
two  great  factors  in  increasing  demand — one  is  increased 
wages  and  the  other  is  reduced  cost.  Both  these  increase 
the  purchasing  power  of  the  home-market  consumer  and 
equip  us  the  better  to  compete  with  the  foreigner  abroad, 
by  enabling  us  to  supply  cheaper  articles  for  export,  so 
that,  as  a  commercial  proposition,  the  six-hour  day  based 
on  increased  production  would  be  absolutely  sound,  and 
could  be  depended  upon  to  result  in  the  increased  demand 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  37 

for  our  products  essential  to  its  success.  It  is  stated  that 
a  Scotchman  once  wrongly  attributed  a  quotation  from 
Shakespeare  to  Robert  Burns.  On  being  corrected  he 
replied :  "  Ah,  weel,  it  was  guid  enough  for  Rob  tae  ha'e 
written  it."  It  is  not  known  who  first  said  that  if  one 
makes  but  a  mousetrap  better  and  cheaper  than  any  one 
else  the  whole  world  will  soon  beat  a  path  to  one's  door, 
but  these  words  are  good  enough  to  have  been  said  by  the 
wisest  business  sage  the  world  ever  produced,  and  to 
date  back  to  the  very  first  dawn  of  civilized  dealings 
between  man  and  fellow-man. 

In  addition  to  the  effect  of  a  six-hour  working  day  in 
giving  all  that  we  require  in  production  from  our  work- 
ers, so  that  we  can  pay  to  the  workers  the  same  wages 
for  the  reduced  hours  that  they  receive  for  the  longer 
hours,  it  would  give  us  this  great  additional  national  ad- 
vantage:-it  would  enable  us  the  better  to  solve  our  after- 
war  problem  of  employment  for  the  men  and  women  who 
will  then  be  released  from  actual  war  and  war  supply 
work. . 


Ill 

THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

(Continued) 

AFTER  the  war  we  shall  have  a  demand,  which  must  be 
met,  for  increased  supplies  of  all  kinds  of  products  to 
replenish  exhausted  stocks  both  at  home  and  for  export 
markets.  This  will  necessitate,  for  many  years  after 
the  war,  an  increased  production,  if  Great  Britain  is  to 
retain  her  home  and  export  trade,  amounting  to  at  least 
50  per  cent,  over  and  above  the  normal  production  re- 
quired in  pre-war  times.  In  addition,  we  shall  require 
to  build,  it  is  estimated,  at  least  one  million  homes  to 
house  the  workers  under  proper  reasonable  conditions. 
We  shall  also  require  to  replenish  our  mercantile  marine 
by  many  millions  of  tons  of  new  ships. 

All  these  will  make  a  demand  upon  our  labour  to  such 
an  extent  that  it  will  not  be  possible  immediately  to  build 
additional  factories  and  workshops,  or  to  erect  plant  and 
machinery  for  the  same,  in  order  to  provide  for  the  50 
per  cent,  increased  production  demanded.  We  shall  be 
short  of  factories  and  workshops,  but  we  shall  not  be 
short  of  labour,  for  it  is  estimated  that  the  termination 
of  the  war  will  release  at  least  11%  millions  of  men  and 
women  who  are  at  present  engaged  either  in  active  work 
on  the  field  of  battle  or  in  workshops  and  factories  and 
transport  service  necessitated  to  supply  the  army  in  the 
field  with  material  and  supplies  required  for  the  prosecu- 
tion of  the  war. 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  39 

The  raw  materiaj  we  shall  require  is  mainly  produced 
within  the  British  Empire:  therefore,  so  far  as  raw 
materials  are  concerned,  and  so  far  as  labour  is  con- 
cerned, we  shall  not  be  in  any  serious  difficulty,  but  we 
shall  be  in  difficulties  with  regard  to  providing  the  fac- 
tories and  workshops  and  machinery  required  to  work 
up  raw  materials  into  the  finished  product.  We  shall 
have  an  overwhelming  demand  for  goods :  we  shall  have 
the  necessary  raw  material  and  men  and  women  required 
to  make  the  goods,  but  we  shall  not  have  the  equipment 
to  manufacture  the  goods  to  meet  the  demand  for  the 
finished  product,  owing  to  the  lack  of  workshops,  fac- 
tories, plant,  and  machinery. 

But  even  if  we  could  immediately  at  the  close  of  the 
war  erect  new  factories  and  workshops,  we  must  re- 
member that  it  is  estimated  the  cost  of  building  would 
then  be  75  per  cent,  more  than  pre-war  rates;  and  the 
cost  of  plant  and  machinery  would  be  anything  from 
100  to  200  per  cent,  above  pre-war  rates.  Therefore  the 
erecting  of  new  factories  and  equipping  with  new  plant 
and  machinery  would  seriously  handicap  our  home  manu- 
facturers in  their  competition  with  manufacturers  in 
Neutral  and  Allied  countries,  such  as  Holland  and  the 
United  States  in  supplying  economically  the  demand  in 
the  Neutral  markets  of  the  world  which  demand  we  had 
previously  very  largely  ourselves  supplied.  But  by  the 
adoption  of  the  six-hour  working  day  we  could  auto- 
matically and  immediately  increase  our  production  by  at 
least  50  per  cent,  just  as  effectively  as  if  we  had  been  able 
to  build  50  per  cent,  additional  factories,  workshops, 
plant,  and  machinery.  And  we  could  do  this  without 
making  any  call  on  capital  or  any  call  on  labour  for  the 
mere  erection  of  these  mechanical  utilities. 

After  the  war,  therefore,  the  times  will  be  ripe  for 
the  six-hour  working  day  of  two  shifts.  There  will  be 


40  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

the  demand  and  there  will  be  the  labour  to  meet  the  de- 
mand, and  by  working  double  shift  we  shall  have  the 
machinery  sufficient  to  meet  all  our  requirements.  The 
nj4  million  men  and  women  released  when  the  war  is 
over  cannot  be  found  work  on  any  permanent  basis  by 
means  of  philanthropic  effort  or  subscription  lists  or 
good  intentions.  They  can  only  be  provided  permanently 
with  employment  on  sound  economic  lines  of  greater 
economy  in  production  and  of  a  greatly  increased  demand 
for  products  resulting  from  that  economy  in  production. 

The  six-hour  day  would  also  solve  the  question  of  the 
education  of  the  boy  and  girl  on  their  first  leaving  school : 
it  would  also  solve  the  question  of  their  physical  train- 
ing; it  would  solve  the  question  of  military  training,  so 
that  we  could  have  a  trained  citizen  army ;  and  it  would 
solve  the  question  of  the  outlook  on  life  of  our  workers. 
Can  we  fancy  anything  more  sordid  than  the  life  of  a 
boy  (or  girl)  who  goes  into  the  factory  to-day  under  the 
stress  of  modern  conditions?  His  grandfather  probably 
went  to  work  at  eight  years  of  age.  The  present-day 
boy  goes  at  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  from  then  to 
seventy  years  of  age  (if  he  survive)  he  sees  nothing  but 
the  factory,  except  for  a  few  holidays,  so  few  that  he 
scarcely  knows  how  to  systematize  and  make  the  most  of 
them,  and  his  horizon,  his  whole  outlook  on  life,  is  so 
stunted  that  he  cannot  live  the  life  he  was  intended  to 
live.  It  was  never  the  Creator's  intention  to  send  us  into 
this  world  as  so  many  "  hands  " — He  sent  us  with 
imagination,  He  sent  us  with  the  love  of  the  country,  He 
sent  us  with  ideals  and  outlook,  and  these  are  simply 
stifled  under  our  present  industrial  system. 

How  can  we  wonder  at  what  is  called  "Labour  Un- 
rest"? If  men  and  women  were  satisfied  to  endure 
quietly  such  conditions,  then  we  might  indeed  despair  of 
their  future  and  the  future  of  the  British  race. 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  41 

Let  us  make  the  most  of  our  English-speaking  race, 
the  finest  race,  in  our  opinion — of  course,  we  may  not 
be  impartial  judges  as  to  that — on  the  face  of  the  globe. 
Let  us  face  the  problem  of  the  boy  and  girl  of  fourteen 
— it  is  a  pressing  one.  What  to  do  with  boys  from  four- 
teen to  sixteen  is  a  most  important  problem.  We  know 
how,  at  that  age,  boys  delight  in  getting  into  all  sorts 
of  scrapes  and  mischief.  The  training  of  boys  in  Boys' 
Brigades  and  the  Boy  Scout  movement,  for  which  we 
are  indebted  to  General  Sir  Robert  Baden-Powell,  has 
proved  a  great  remedy  for  that  state  of  affairs.  But  if 
we  could  take  the  boy  and  girl  at  the  age  of  fourteen  and 
give  them,  say,  two  hours'  schooling  in  the  morning  or 
afternoon,  and  continue  this  right  on  until_the_age  of 
thirty,  what  could  we  not  make  of  them?  Evening 
classes,  we  know  are  a  failure.  The  boy  or  girl  attend- 
ing these  classes  after  a  hard  day's  work  is  not  in  a 
receptive  state  of  mind  for  instruction — both  mind  and 
body  are  weary,  and  therefore  the  evening  classes  are  not 
a  means  to  an  end — they  are  a  substitute  and  not  a 
success.  Education  cannot  be  completed  at  fourteen  for 
the  very  simple  reason  that  the  necessary  number  of 
hours  have  not  been  devoted  to  it,  and  the  number  of 
subjects  have  not  been  covered  that  ought  to  be  covered. 
But  under  the  six-hour  day  scheme  these  two  hours  of 
instruction  on  alternate  mornings  and  afternoons  could 
be  continued  from  fourteen  to  eighteen,  and  from 
eighteen  to  twenty- four  years  of  age,  during  which  period 
the  scholars  would  be  receiving  instruction  of  a  still 
higher  character,  with  physical  training,  and  would  be 
learning  how  to  improve  in  their  work.  The  very  fact 
that  during  'their  working  hours  they  are  working 
with  their  hands  would  help  their  brain  educa- 
tion, and  eventually  make  them  infinitely  superior 
citizens. 


42  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

These  two  hours  for  education  and  training  each  day, 
from  fourteen  to  thirty  years  of  age,  must  be  made 
absolutely  compulsory,  must  be  what  we  may  call  "  con- 
scripted "  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  nation.  From 
fourteen  to  eighteen  years  of  age,  let  it  be  extended 
education  of  what  we  may  call  the  High  School  char- 
acter, together  with  physical  training;  from  eighteen  to 
twenty-four  years  of  age,  education  of  what  we  may 
call  the  Technical  and  University  character,  with  ex- 
tended physical  training;  from  twenty-four  to  thirty 
years  of  age,  training  for  military  service  for  national 
service,  for  the  duties  of  citizenship,  preparing  for  mem- 
bership of  Village  and  Town  Councils,  and  so  on,  and 
general  study  of  all  that  goes  to  make  for  government, 
of  ourselves,  for  ourselves,  by  ourselves,  which  ideal  is 
very  often  merely  a  catch  phrase.  Then  each  of  us  after 
reaching  thirty  years  of  age  will  be  a  unit  in  a  nation 
of  educated,  trained  men  and  women  and  within  the 
limits  of  the  law  we  can  be  trusted  then  to  make  the  best 
use,  for  whatever  appears  good  to  us,  of  the  two  hours 
a  day,  for  we  do  not  think  a  conscription  of  time  after 
thirty  years  of  age  would  serve  any  useful  purpose.  The 
organizing  of  our  time  in  this  way  would  give  us  a  fully 
educated  nation,  a  nation  capable  of  assuming  responsi- 
bility, and  with  initiative.  We  should  all  be  the  better 
for  it — we  should  have  better  bodies  and  better  minds; 
not  even  University  education  could  compare  with  the 
education  which  would  be  obtained  under  the  above  con- 
ditions simultaneously  through  hand  and  eye  and  brain. 

The  man  in  the  University  gets  his  brain  developed, 
but  if  he  had  simultaneously  the  training  of  hand  which 
manual  industries  impose  upon  those  who  work  in  fac- 
tories, his  brain  would  be  better  for  that  discipline  and 
for  that  training  of  hand  and  eye.  We  should  produce 
under  these  conditions  a  population  in  the  United  King- 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  43 

dom  more  highly  trained,  more  hard-headed,  and  more 
practical  than  ever  we  can  produce  with  a  Public  School 
education  followed  by  that  of  a  University.  We  believe 
most  thoroughly  in  the  combination  of  the  training  of 
hand  and  brain  and  eye  simultaneously  and  we  bejieve 
most  sincerely  that  a  six-hour  working  day  would  solve 
that  modern  problem  experienced  in  all  our  industries  of 
the  scarcity  of  men  and  women  to  fill  the  positions  of 
foremen,  managers,  and  directors.  All  through  our  in- 
dustrial system  this  scarcity  is  so  great,  that  unless  the 
nation  takes  in  hand  the  proper  and  efficient  education  of 
her  people,  with  definite  courses  of  study  for  definite 
careers,  agriculture  will  suffer,  manufactures  will  suffer, 
shipping  will  suffer,  business  will  suffer,  and  the  progress 
of  the  whole  Empire  will  be  retarded  in  competition  with 
other  nations. 

There  is  a  great  desire  and  not  an  unreasonable  desire, 
and  certainly  a  healthy  desire,  on  the  part  of  the  work- 
man to  take  some  share  in  the  control  of  the  factory  he 
works  in,  and  it  is  a  desire  that  should  be  encouraged; 
but  we  cannot  take  a  rank-and-file  worker  out  of  the 
factory  to-day  and  put  him  on  the  Board  of  Directors 
and  expect  that  he  will  be  able  to  give  valuable  help  and 
assistance.  He  must  be  trained;  we  have  all  had  to  be 
trained.  There  must  be  healthy  growth  and  develop- 
ment towards  this  end,  for  there  can  be  no  sound  business 
without  previous  training.  The  desire  to  have  a  seat  on 
Boards  of  Directors  and  a  share  in  the  control  of  the 
industries  is  a  healthy  sign;  but  it  would  be  madness 
and  ruin  to  the  industries  of  this  country  if  our  Boards 
of  Directors  were  not  composed  of  trained  men,  and 
only  by  better  education  shall  we  be  able  to  satisfy  that 
reasonable  ambition  of  the  employee-workers. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  this  talk  of  the  reorganization 
of  the  control  of  industry  should  come  forward  at  the 


44  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

time  when  the  great  nation,  our  kindred  across  the  At- 
lantic, is  giving  greater  consideration  to  efficiency,  and 
a  larger  output  and  a  cheaper  cost  of  production  with 
higher  wages  and  shorter  hours.  Now,  any  mistake  on 
our  part  in  the  peaceful  lines  of  commerce  when  this 
war  is  over  would  be  only  second  as  a  disaster  to  a  mis- 
take on  the  field  of  battle.  Either  would  be  irredeemable. 
If  a  nation  once  loses  its  position  in  commerce,  it  requires 
a  matter  of  centuries  to  recover  it.  We  have  seen  com- 
merce in  the  Mediterranean  pass  from  the  Venetians  to 
the  Spaniards.  Why?  Because  the  Venetians  got  an 
idea  that  they  were  strong  and  powerful  and  could  dic- 
tate terms  to  the  world.  They  thought  they  could  make 
their  own  rules — selfish  rules,  entirely  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Venetians.  The  trade  passed  to  Spain,  and  Spain 
was  in  her  glory  at  the  time  when  she  began  to  consider 
that  she  had  arrived  at  the  point  when  she  could  ignore 
the  basis  upon  which  her  trade  had  been  built  up,  and 
became  more  narrow  and  selfish,  less  considerate  of  the 
interests  of  others.  Then  the  trade  passed  from  Spain  to 
Holland,  and  Holland,  in  turn,  got  to  the  pinnacle  that 
we  enjoy  to-day,  because  although  we  are  only  45  mil- 
lions of  people  in  this  country,  we  can  say  with  truth 
that  we  stand  in  advance  in  manufactures,  in  trade  and 
commerce,  of  any  other  nation  in  the  world,  whatever  its 
population  may  be. 

Holland,  in  her  turn,  lost  the  trade  to  England,  and  we 
are  now  at  the  cross-roads,  and  have  to  consider  carefully 
what  way  we  take,  or  the  pre-eminent  position  of  British 
manufacturers,  and  the  pre-eminent  position  of  the 
workers,  and  of  interest  in  them,  may  pass  from  our 
hands  to  those  of  other  and  more  alert  nations.  You 
remember  we  are  told  that  above  all  things  we  are  to 
desire  wisdom.  And  I  do  believe  myself  that  what  we 
in  Lancashire  call  "  nous,"  wisdom,  is  one  of  those  rare 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  45 

faculties  which,  possessed  in  full,  can  take  us  through  life 
to  a  realization  of  our  wildest  dreams  and  ambitions. 
But  if  we  neglect  wisdom,  and  rush  to  make  changes 
without  due  consideration — very  much  like  the  prover- 
bial bull  in  the  china  shop — then  we  only  court  wreckage 
and  ruin  and  disaster. 

Now,  what  are  our  ambitions?  What  are  the  ambi- 
tions of  any  true  democratic  people?  Surely  our  ambi- 
tions are  a  better  life  for  each  of  us,  more  equal  dis- 
tribution of  wealth,  higher  wages  in  order  to  attain  to  a 
better  living,  more  plentiful  supply  of  all  that  we  require 
in  the  way  of  boots,  shoes,  and  clothing,  better  homes 
— homes  with  gardens,  homes  that  are  really  places  in 
which  a  soul  can  live  and  expand,  and  not  caves  in  which 
we  can  crouch  out  of  the  light.  Well,  these  things  will 
not  drop  down  from  the  skies  for  us.  They  are  not  very 
much  good  until  we  can  get  them  on  the  earth  on  which 
we  live  our  narrow  span  of  life.  There  is  no  other  way. 
Some  people  see  the  curse  of  Adam  in  work.  I  believe 
it  was  the  greatest  blessing  that  ever  came  to  us.  Of 
all  people,  those  without  work  are  the  most  miserable. 
That  is  no  reason  why  "  A  "  should  be  worn  down  and 
fatigued,  whilst  "  B,"  without  much  work,  apparently 
gets  more  than  his  fair  share  of  the  good  things  of  this 
world. 

There  is  no  logic  in  that,  and  I  am  bound  to  say  I  feel 
it  very  intensely  that  it  has  to  be  recorded  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  twentieth  century  that  nine-tenths  of  the 
wealth  of  the  United  Kingdom — and  I  believe  the  same 
equally  applies  to  most  other  countries — should  be  pos- 
sessed by  less  than  one-tenth  of  the  people,  and  that 
nine-tenths  of  the  people  should  possess  only  one-tenth 
of  the  wealth.  That  is  a  system  that  cannot  be  defended 
for  one  single  moment.  But  you  must  remember  this, 
that  through  all  the  centuries  we  have  had  such  a  system 


46  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

of  taxation  in  this  country  that  the  taxes  have  not  been 
laid  on  the  backs  best  able  to  bear  them,  but  have 
been  laid  on  the  worker.  I  remember  very  well  years 
ago,  when  I  was  a  Liberal  candidate,  pointing  out  that, 
including  the  rates  on  the  house,  and  if  the  man  hap- 
pened to  be  a  moderate  drinker  and  a  moderate  smoker, 
and  his  wife  enjoyed  her  cup  of  tea  and  so  on,  the  rates 
and  taxes  collected  from  the  workman  were  from  45.  to 
55.  in  the  pound  of  his  income;  whilst  the  contributions 
of  the  wealthy  man  at  that  time  could  not  be  totalled  up 
to  any  more  than  is.  in  the  pound.  The  income  tax 
at  that  time  was  about  6d.  or  8d.  in  the  pound,  there  was 
no  super-tax,  no  graduated  death  duties,  and  no  excess 
profits  tax.  But  now  how  do  we  stand?  If  a  man  is 
wealthy,  he  has  55.  in  the  pound  to  pay  in  income  tax, 
35.  6d.  in  the  pound  super-tax;  if  he  possesses  a  fortune 
of  a  million,  it  will  have  to  pay  20  per  cent,  in  death 
duties.  Take  the  death  duties  as  payable  on  an  insurance 
basis  (that  is  the  easiest  way  to  reckon  it),  and  you  will 
find  that  it  will  bring  his  total  taxation  to-day  (1917-18) 
up  to  I2s.  6d.  in  the  pound.  We  have  only  had  this 
system  a  few  years;  but  I  venture  to  say — and  this  is 
apart  from  excess  profits  tax — that  under  the  present 
system  of  taxation  it  can  no  'longer  be  said  that  the 
wealthy  are  not  bearing  their  fair  share  of  the  burden  of 
the  country. 

I  do  not  say  they  are  bearing  more  than  they  ought  to 
bear;  but  I  feel  proud  of  the  fact  that  the  opportunity  is 
now  given  to  each  man  in  the  country,  whatever  his 
riches  may  be,  whether  he  is  a  weekly  wage-earner  or  a 
wealthy  man,  to  bear  his  fair  share  of  the  burden  of  the 
country.  The  wealthy  are  bearing  it  in  the  form  of  taxa- 
tion and  in  every  other  form — by  their  sons  fighting  in 
the  trenches,  and  in  all  other  ways.  We  never  were  a 
more  united  nation,  a  more  equal  nation  on  the  basis  of 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  47 

taxation ;  and  we  ought  to  be  proud  of  it.  But  the  echo 
of  the  former  complaint  still  reverberates  around  the 
land,  that  the  rich  are  not  paying  their  share.  That  has 
ceased  to  be  the  fact.  And  it  is  not  really  the  fact  that 
land  does  not  pay  its  fair  proportion,  that  property  does 
not  pay  its  fair  share,  that  the  incomes  of  the  wealthy 
do  not  pay  their  fair  share.  All  this  we  have  altered  very 
largely  since  1896.  The  years  1909  and  1910  were  the 
crucial  years,  when  a  big  advance  was  made;  but  the 
biggest  advance  of  all  has  been  made  since  the  war 
began.  I  want  us  to  bear  that  fact  in  mind,  because,  be- 
lieve me,  it  has  accomplished  more  to  improve  the  con- 
ditions of  the  people  of  this  country,  to  raise  their 
spirits,  and  to  give  them  an  outlook  on  life  than  anything 
in  the  century  preceding  it.  I  am  confident  and  happy  to 
acknowledge  that  that  is  so;  but  our  hearts,  having 
begun  to  show  sympathy  in  one  direction,  must  show  it 
in  all.  That  is  the  rule  of  nature.  You  cannot  be 
warm-hearted  and  sympathetic  in  one  direction  only;  you 
must  be  in  all.  You  cannot  be  cold  and  brutal  on  one 
question;  you  are  cold  and  brutal  on  all.  That  is  the 
law  of  life.  We  have  also  seen  the  Health  Insurance 
Acts,  and  I  had  the  honour  of  carrying  two  bills  pre- 
ceding the  Government  Acts — the  Old  Age  Pensions  Act 
and  the  Payment  of  Members  Act — which  latter  gives 
the  means  to  any  constituency  to  select  its  member  with- 
out consideration  as  to  whether  he  can  afford  to  pay  his 
railway  fares  to  London  and  his  lodgings  when  he  is  in 
London.  Just  think  what  it  has  meant  to  give  old  age 
pensions,  improved  education,  medical  attendance  on 
school  children,  and  health  insurance.  The  total  ex- 
penditure on  these — education,  old  age  pensions,  labour 
bureaux,  and  health  insurance — is  61  millions  a  year. 
That  amount  is  taken  out  of  the  taxes  (mainly  income 
tax)  and  distributed  throughout  amongst  the  workers. 


48  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

It  is  thought  by  some  that  democracy  means  absolute 
uniformity,  and  you  will  notice  one  of  the  questions  put 
by  the  Prime  Minister  yesterday,  in  reply  to  a  ques- 
tioner about  the  conscription  of  wealth  and  the  acquisi- 
tion of  wealth,  was  not  answered  by  the  questioner.  The 
Prime  Minister  had  asked  whether  equality  of  wealth 
ideal  was  to  apply  all  round,  whether  we  were  to  be  bound 
by  the  ideal  of  the  skilled  engineer  receiving  the  same 
wages  as  the  labourer.  He  was  not  answered;  but  if 
equality  all  round  would  achieve  anything  to  better  the 
conditions  of  life,  I  am  sure  the  skilled  engineer  and 
all  of  us  would  agree  that  a  system  that  made  for  the 
greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number  would  be  a  right 
system  in  a  democratic  country.  But,  believe  me,  human 
nature  is  founded  upon  very  distinct  principles.  First  of 
all,  we  are  social.  We  love  to  live  in  communities,  in 
towns.  Very  few  of  us  love  to  live  in  scattered  districts. 
The  men  in  the  backwoods  of  Australia  are  always  long- 
ing to  go  to  Sydney,  Melbourne,  Adelaide,  Brisbane,  or 
wherever  their  big  city  may  be.  But  whilst  we  are  social 
in  our  habits  and  love  our  fellow-men,  we  are  individual- 
istic in  that  we  love  our  own  homes.  We  do  not  want 
to  have  our  homes  in  a  barracks,  there  to  live  a  barracks 
life  with  others.  Each  one  of  us  feels  that  we  have  an 
individuality.  We  are  not  only  a  body,  but  we  have  a 
soul,  and  our  individuality  wants  room  for  expression.  I 
always  think  the  earning  power  of  a  man,  whether  in  the 
factory  or  in  the  office,  whether  he  is  or  is  not  the 
proprietor  of  the  business,  is  in  proportion  to  his  mental 
attributes.  As  the  young  tree  sends  its  roots  in  every 
direction,  searching  for  nourishment  and  water,  so  does 
human  nature  send  out  its  roots  to  feed  its  soul.  If  you 
were  to  say  that  the  man  in  the  factory  must  not  do 
some  duty  apart  from  the  workshop,  and  that  the  em- 
ployer must  not  undertake  some  task  apart  from  his 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  49 

business,  you  would  cramp  the  aspirations  and  desires 
of  every  human  being.  We  have  to  attempt  to  satisfy 
our  souls  as  well  as  our  bodies  by  our  effort.  Take 
inspiration  for  that  effort  away,  and  we  should  just  be- 
come automata. 

We  have  to-day,  I  believe,  in  the  United  Kingdom,  by 
means  of  steam-power  and  machinery,  the  productive 
capacity  of  over  1,000  millions  of  human  beings  working 
twenty-four  hours  a  day,  and  by  means  of  that  power  we 
produce,  by  possibly  14  or  15  millions  of  human  beings, 
all  that  could  be  produced  by  the  thousand  million  pro- 
ducers without  that  power.  But,  as  I  say,  there  was  in 
the  past  a  great  power  running  to  waste,  and  some  of  it  is 
running  to  waste  yet  (such  as  the  ocean  tides),  in  spite 
of  us.  I  venture  to  say  there  is  not  one  of  us  in  this 
room  who  without  fatigue,  in  terms  of  thought  and 
organized  inspiration  and  aspiration,  is  not  capable  of 
infinitely  more  for  the  common  good  than  we  are  doing 
to-day;  but  we  have  never  been  studied;  the  best  has 
not  been  brought  out  of  us.  We  have  been  made  into 
automata  to  go  to  our  work  at  six  or  seven  in  the  morn- 
ing and  finish  at  five  or  six  in  the  evening.  And  it  has 
become  almost  a  fetish  with  some  of  us  that  the  less 
they  can  do  in  that  period,  not  only  the  easier  is  it  for 
themselves  but  the  better  for  their  mates.  And  on  the 
employers*  side  it  has  been  equally  a  fetish  that  the  lower 
the  wages  paid,  the  longer  the  hours  worked,  the  cheaper 
the  product  would  be.  They  are  both  wrong,  absolutely 
wrong.  But  is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  under  this 
system  the  idea  should  have  leaped  into  the  minds  of 
some  trade  unionists  as  to  the  restriction  of  output  ?  I  do 
not  know  whether  you  have  read  recently  what  has  been 
said  by  a  great  Trade  Union  leader  in  America.  I  want 
you  to  consider  this  very  carefully,  because  we  are  in 
competition  with  America.  Don't  think  for  a  moment 


50  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

that  our  Allies  in  the  trenches  will  be  our  allies  in  com- 
merce. It  is  in  noble  devotion  to  the  cause  of  democracy 
that  the  Americans  are  throwing  themselves  into  the  war. 
They  have  no  territory  in  dispute,  no  object  to  pursue  in 
European  politics.  They  are  doing  it  from  the  highest 
ideals  of  democracy  and  to  free  Europe  from  the  hell  of 
militarism.  They  are  not  children  who  are  doing  this, 
and  when  this  war  is  over,  and  we  come  to  consider  the 
trade  of  the  world,  whatever  ideals  we  have  in  this 
country,  we  shall  have  to  reckon  with  the  ideals  the 
Americans  have. 

I  will  read  to  you  what  Mr.  Gompers,  the  President  of 
the  American  Federation  of  Labour,  representing  many 
millions  of  working  men,  said  in  a  recent  speech :  "  We 
are  not  going  to  have  the  trouble  here  that  Britain  had 
through  restriction  of  production."  He  is  speaking  for 
Labour,  not  for  the  masters;  but  you  might  think  he  was 
speaking  for  the  masters.  "  There  has  not  been  any 
restriction  of  output  for  over  thirty  years  in  America. 
We,  in  the  United  States,  have  followed  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent policy."  Well,  I  can  say  that  I  have  been  to 
America,  and  found  a  man  in  charge  of  five  lathes,  auto- 
matic machines.  I  remember  asking,  when  I  got  back, 
why  a  man  should  not  look  after  five  lathes  here,  and  I 
was  told  the  Union  rules  were  against  it.  That  is  a  mis- 
take. I  do  not  want  you  to  believe  that  I  think  the  Unions 
are  not  doing  good  work  according  to  their  lights.  I  have 
never  met  a  Trade  Union  official  yet  who  has  not  im- 
pressed me  with  his  sincerity  in  desiring  to  do  the  best 
for  his  members;  but  it  is  a  mistaken  policy,  that  is  all. 
It  is  exactly  the  same  as  many  mistakes  on  the  side  of  the 
masters;  but  they  are  both  wrong.  "  We  say  to  the  em- 
ployers " — there  is  no  doubt  about  letting  employers 
know — "bring  in  all  the  improved  machinery  and  new 
tools  you  can  find.  We  will  help  you  to  improve  them 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  51 

still  more,  and  we  will  get  the  utmost  product  out  of  them ; 
but  what  we  insist  on  is  the  limitation  of  hours  of  labour 
for  the  individual  to  eight."  This  might  be  my  speech  if 
you  take  the  eight  and  put  it  at  six.  It  is  exactly  what  I 
am  preaching.  I  believe  in  England  we  are  ripe  for  a 
six-hour  day  in  many  industries.  I  have  had  experience 
of  eight  hours  for  twenty-five  years.  The  same  type  of 
people  who  say  that  six  hours  is  impossible,  said  eight 
hours  was  impossible,  said  that  ten  hours  was  impossible, 
and  that  twelve  hours  was  impossible,  and  so  on  at  each 
stage  of  reduction  from  a  fourteen-hour  to  the  eight-hour 
day,  so  that  I  am  not  made  despondent  by  the  fact  that  I 
am  told  it  is  impossible. 

"Work  two  shifts  if  you  please,  or  work  your  ma- 
chinery all  round  the  twenty-four  hours  if  you  like,  with 
three  shifts,  and  we  will  agree,  but  we  insist  on  the 
normal  working  day,  with  full  physical  effort.  We  will 
not  agree  to  that  over-work,  producing  the  effect  of  over- 
fatigue,  which  destroys  the  maximum  of  production,  un- 
dermines the  health  of  the  individual  worker  and  de- 
stroys his  capacity  for  full  industrial  effort."  That  is 
almost  word  for  word  what  I  have  said,  except  for  the 
eight  instead  of  six.  We  want  higher  wages,  shorter 
hours,  a  larger  production  of  everything,  so  that  we  can 
get  a  cheaper  cost.  Without  that  cheaper  cost  we  have 
no  funds  to  pay  higher  wages.  Higher  wages  are  merely 
a  shadow  unless  you  have  lower  costs  giving  increased 
purchasing  power  with  the  higher  wages;  and  I  believe 
with  that  and  with  shorter  hours  we  can  realize  ajl  that 
we  are  striving  for.  I  am  told  that  at  Ford's  works 
they  employ  40,000  persons.  A  boy  worker  can  get  £  i 
per  day,  and  all  employees  are  paid  double  Trade  Union 
rates ;  and  there  I  am  told  that  it  is  the  exception  for  the 
workman  not  to  have  his  own  motor-car.  Why  should 
not  the  workmen  have  their  own  motor-cars  ?  They  will 


52  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

not  get  motor-cars  under  a  system  of  restricted  output; 
there  won't  be  enough  to  go  round.  Every  time  we  in- 
crease the  output  and  reduce  the  cost  we  have  a  fund  out 
of  which  we  can  increase  the  wages.  It  ought  to  be 
possible  for  men  to  have  more  leisure  than  they  have 
to-day,  when  they  commence  work  at  six,  or  seven,  or 
eight  in  the  morning  and  work  on  until  five  or  five-thirty 
in  the  evening.  More  leisure  than  that  is  an  absolute 
essential  if  we  are  to  live  a  complete,  full  life  citizenship. 
I  say  without  hesitation,  and  I  say  it  is  within  reach,  now 
that  we  have  got  the  wages  up,  we  can  afford  automatic 
machinery,  and  so  by  means  of  automatic  machinery  we 
can  produce  more  goods. 

Everybody  should  be  given  an  interest  in  the  results  of 
their  work,  and  then  they  can  have  more  satisfaction  in  it. 
And  there  could  be  more  relief  for  the  employer,  so  that 
employers  also  could  devote  themselves  to  a  realization 
of  shorter  hours,  with  harder  work  during  the  time 
they  are  at  work  without  fatigue,  cheaper  production  and 
more  leisure.  Well,  now,  that  is  what  we  want,  but  what 
are  we  drifting  to  ?  I  will  show  you.  Gompers  said :  "  It 
is  thirty  years  since  we  had  limitation  of  output,"  and  so 
I  will  go  back  thirty  years,  when  they  dropped  it  and  we 
began  it.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  a  dog  returns  to  its 
own  vomit.  It  seems  to  me  we  were  a  dog  that  returned 
to  another  dog's  vomit.  In  1886  the  output  of  a  certain 
class  of  worker  in  the  United  Kingdom  was  312  units; 
in  1906  (twenty  years  after)  this  output  had  been  reduced 
to  275  and  in  1912  (that  is  the  last  recorded  year  be- 
fore the  war)  it  had  dropped  to  244 — from  312  to  244 
in  twenty-six  years  in  the  United  Kingdom.  In  the 
United  States,  whilst  in  1886  the  output  per  worker  was 
at  400,  it  went  up  to  596  in  1906,  and  in  1912  to  600, 
so  that  whilst  we  went  down  the  United  States  have  gone 
up  50  per  cent.  But  we  have  Englishmen  in  other  parts 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  53 

of  the  world — we  have  them  in  Australia.  Do  you  mean 
to  tell  me  that  the  Australians  are  not  as  strong  trade 
unionists  as  any  others?  And  the  same  applies  to  the 
New  Zealander  and  the  Canadian.  We  all  know  they 
are  strong  trade  unionists.  In  Australia  in  1886  the  out- 
put per  head  was  333,  in  1906  462,  in  1912  542,  more 
than  double  per  man  what  the  workers  are  producing  in 
the  United  Kingdom.  Yes,  but  the  wages  are  double. 
I  want  to  tell  you  as  the  output  goes  up  the  wages  go  up; 
as  the  output  goes  down,  if  the  wages  go  up,  the  pur- 
chasing power  goes  down.  In  New  Zealand  the  output 
per  worker  increased  from  359  in  1886  to  470  in  1906, 
and  503  in  1912,  and  in  Canada  from  341  to  472.  Of 
all  the  English-speaking  races  all  over  the  world,  we,  in 
the  United  Kingdom,  are  the  only  ones  who  have  fallen 
behind  in  our  production  per  head  of  the  workers.  And 
is  our  condition  improved  under  this  policy?  Are  we 
satisfied  and  happy  with  it? 

I  think  if  any  of  you  have  gone,  as  I  have,  to  Aus- 
tralia, and  seen  the  homes  of  the  workers — seen  them 
having  their  summer  holidays  on  their  beaches  with  their 
wives  and  families — you  would  see  that  their  wages  are 
not  improperly  used.  Well,  but  for  it  all,  they  would 
tell  us  that  increased  output  is  the  road  to  betterment 
and  prosperity.  Australia  settled  with  the  I.W.W.,  put 
a  number  of  them  in  gaol,  and  this  under  a  Labour  Gov- 
ernment. "  Ca'  canny  "  is  a  canker.  I  want  to  say  how 
sincerely  and  earnestly  I  am,  and  have  been  all  my  life, 
with  every  master  and  worker  in  this  room,  ajthough  I 
cannot  say  whether  there  are  more  masters  or  more 
workers.  I  cannot  say,  but  I  do  think  this,  that  Lanca- 
shire men  and  Yorkshire  men  have  very  similar  views, 
and  very  similar  aspirations. 

What  I  want  is  that  we  shall  just  inquire,  if  any  change 
is  to  be  made,  whether  it  is  right,  and  the  first  step  to 


54  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

lead  in  the  right  direction.  I  do  not  want  to  claim  that 
what  I  have  said  this  afternoon  represents  the  whole 
Alpha  and  Omega  of  this  great  question.  I  have  only 
touched  the  fringe  of  it  but,  believe  me,  the  truth  I 
started  with  is  an  absolute  truth — that  we  shall  not  get 
our  clothes,  and  boots  and  shoes,  and  houses  dropping 
down  from  the  sky,  or  jumping  up  fr6m  the  ground  like 
mushrooms.  We  will  have  to  work  for  them,  and  in 
working  for  them,  it  is  our  business  to  consider  how  we 
can  produce  them  with  the  least  fatigue,  the  utmost 
leisure,  the  greatest  cheapness,  with  the  largest  volume, 
so  that  out  of  the  things  created  in  this  way  there  shall 
be  an  ever-increasing  demand,  so  that  however  great  this 
output  it  shall  all  be  absorbed;  a  demand  for  all  the 
necessaries,  comforts,  and  luxuries  of  life  as  much  from 
the  workers  as  from  those  who  are  so-called  masters, 
with  such  a  fair  and  right  system  of  graduated  taxation, 
that  those  who  have  the  ability  to  make  money  may  utilize 
their  creative  powers  or  their  opportunities  to  bear  a 
strong  man's  burden  of  taxation,  and  so  each  in  propor- 
tion to  his  strength  will  bear  the  taxation  of  the  country. 
Working  on  these  lines,  I  see  an  England  where  we  can 
work  a  reasonable  number  of  hours,  where  our  children 
shall  receive  the  fullest  and  most  complete  education — 
the  children  of  the  workman  just  as  good  an  education  as 
the  children  of  the  employer — so  that  there  shall  be  every 
opportunity  for  all  of  us;  that  there  shall  be  a  ladder  for 
every  man,  and  he  shall  be  left  to  climb  it  if  he  wishes. 

We  should  gain  vastly  in  all  directions  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  six-hour  day ;  the  worker  would  have  oppor- 
tunities for  recreation,  for  education,  and  for  the  achieve- 
ment of  a  higher  social  standing.  The  term  "  factory 
hand  " — that  most  hateful  of  terms,  as  if  the  "  hand  " 
possessed  no  soul,  no  intellect  and  no  ambition  in  life  at 
all — that  term  would  go.  The  factory  employee,  no 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT  55 

longer  a  "  hand,"  would  go  for  six  hours  a  day  to  the 
factory  in  the  true  spirit  of  service.  He  or  she  would 
receive  for  that  six  hours  tat  least  the  same  pay  that  he 
or  she  now  receives  for  eight  hours.  Those  now  receiv- 
ing one  shilling  an  hour  and  working  eight  hours  a  day 
would,  in  future,  receive  is.  4d.  per  hour  and  work  six 
hours,  and  would  be  able  to  produce  as  much  in  the  six 
hours  as  is  now  produced  in  the  eight,  while  the  ma- 
chinery, running  in  two  six-hour  shifts,  would  produce  a 
vastly  increased  output. 

This  is  the  very  rough  and  crude  outline  of  what  we 
suggest  should  be  done  in  order  to  meet  industrial  con- 
ditions after  the  war.  With  all  modesty  and  sincerity, 
the  six-hour  working  day  proposal  is  submitted  to  care- 
ful consideration  and  vigorous  criticism.  Out  of  all  this 
wreckage  of  war  must  ultimately  come  better  and  more 
ideal  conditions  of  living  for  all  classes,  and  under  better 
conditions  we  can  raise  from  our  British  stock  the 
finest  race  the  world  has  hitherto  seen,  and  build  up  an 
empire  founded  on  principles  of  health,  happiness,  justice, 
and  equal  rights  for  aH — an  empire  that  will  be  the  friend 
of  all  nations  and  the  enemy  of  none.  Then  this  war 
will  not  have  been  fought  in  vain,  and  fathers,  brothers, 
and  sons  will  not  in  vain  have  surrendered  their  lives; 
mothers,  wives,  and  sisters  will  not  in  vain  have  mourned 
the  sacrifice  of  their  dear  ones,  and  Peace,  never  again  to 
be  broken,  will  smile  once  more,  and  kindly  Nature  will 
reward  our  labour  with  enough  and  to  spare,  and  with 
lengthening  life,  deepening  joy,  and  happiness  for  all. 


IV 

HARMONIZING  CAPITAL  AND  LABOUR 

I  FIND  from  old  records  that  it  was  nearly  forty  years 
ago — in  the  year  1877 — that  I  began  to  experiment  on 
lines  which,  eleven  years  later,  namely  in  1888,  led  me  to 
adopt  a  system  of  what,  for  want  of  a  better  name,  I 
called  Prosperity-Sharing.  But  it  was  not  until  twenty- 
one  years  after  that,  namely  in  1909,  that  I  adopted  Co- 
Partnership  completely  and  fully,  as  a  practical  business 
relationship  between  so-called  employer  and  employee — 
so  you  will  see  I  have  not  "  rushed  in  where  angels  fear 
to  tread,"  but  gone  cautiously,  and  not  too  hurriedly  for- 
ward to  full  development,  as  becomes  a  Lancashire  man 
whose  father  was  born  in  Bolton  and  whose  mother  was 
born  in  Manchester — and  not  even  north  of  the  Tweed 
can  more  prudent,  cautious  forbears  be  found.  If  you 
asked  me  where  I  first  met  with  the  idea  of  Co-Partner- 
ship,  I  should  have  to  answer  with  the  Lancashire  man 
who  was  asked  where  he  first  met  his  wife,  and  who 
replied :  "  I  did  not  meet  her,  she  overtook  me." 

Before  launching  myself  fully  on  the  tempestuous 
ocean  of  Capital  and  Labour,  I  would  like,  with  your 
permission,  to  change  the  title,  which  was  "  Mutuality 
of  Capital  and  Labour,"  to  "  Harmonizing  Capital  and 
Labour."  The  dictionary  meaning  of  "  harmonizing  " 
is  "  adjusting  in  fit  proportion,"  and,  really,  this  meaning 
seems  to  define  my  address  much  more  accurately  than 
any  other. 

The  very  idea  of  an  attempt  at  harmonizing  may  upset 
many  deep-rooted  eighteenth-  and  nineteenth-century 

56 


HARMONIZING  CAPITAL  AND  LABOUR       57 

false  ideas,  founded  on  "  master  and  man  "  theories  that 
Labour  is  merely  the  paid  tool  of  Capital.  These  false 
ideas  have  got  to  go  "  bag  and  baggage,"  for  the  solu- 
tion of  our  problem  can  only  be  found  by  frankly  ad- 
mitting that  no  individual,  or  body  of  individuals,  repre- 
senting either  Capital  or  Labour,  can  disregard  the  rights 
of  others  or  their  own  duties.  What  these  rights  and 
duties  of  each  to  the  other  are  we  must  endeavour  to 
find  out,  but  the  solution  can  only  be  found  on  sound 
economic  lines.  Mere  desire  for  harmony  will  not  suf- 
fice, however  earnest  and  sincere  it  may  be.  Business 
is  not  only  the  science  of  the  production  and  distribu- 
tion of  goods,  it  is  also  a  social  science.  But  the  human 
elements  combined  in  Capital  and  Labour  are  neither 
social  scientists  nor  political  economists  nor  philanthro- 
pists ;  yet  to  be  able  to  meet  the  modern  twentieth-century 
outlook  they  ought  to  be  acquainted  with  certain  general 
basic  principles. 

We.  must  admit  that  in  spite  of  better  conditions  of 
employment  and  higher  wages  the  present  position  oc- 
cupied by  Labour  is  not  acceptable  to  the  workers. 

The  so-called  practical  business  man,  ostrich-like, 
buries  his  head  in  his  ledger  and  ignores  the  writing  on 
the  wall.  We  must  not  let  this  attitude  influence  our- 
selves, for,  after  all,  has  it  not  been  truly  said  that  the 
so-called  practical  business  man  is  one  who  continues  to 
practise  the  mistakes  of  his  predecessors?  Our  duty  is 
to  search  out  certain  basic  principles  that  must  serve 
Capital  and  Labour  somewhat  in  the  same  way  as  the 
compass  serves  the  mariner  in  navigating  the  trackless 
sea,  or  as  the  calculations  of  the  astronomer  make  clear 
the  mysteries  of  the  starry  heavens,  or  as  the  investiga- 
tions of  the  chemist  have  laid  bare  the  secrets  of  organic 
and  inorganic  matter.  For  in  this  relation  between  Capi- 
tal and  Labour,  which  must  be  acknowledged  to  be  the 


58  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

greatest  and  most  intricate  problem  of  all,  no  attempt 
has  yet  been  made  to  get  down  to  first  principles.  As 
regards  Capital  alone,  and  solely  as  Capital,  this  remark 
does  not  apply;  for  in  respect  of  the  science  of  banking, 
compilation  of  statistics  on  currency,  bank  reserves,  rates 
of  exchange,  and  so  on  ad  infinitum,  business  men  repre- 
sentative of  Capital  have  taken  care  to  be  fully  equipped 
for  every  emergency.  But  no  corresponding  statistics 
dealing  with  the  human  element  in  Labour  have  been 
prepared. 

Of  course,  I  do  not  say  that  statistics  of  wages,  hours 
of  employment,  strikes,  lock-outs,  are  not  available,  be- 
cause these  can  be  obtained  to  the  finest  detail;  but 
Labour  as  a  human  element  in  production  and  distribu- 
tion has  not  been  scientifically  analysed  as  Capital  has 
been  for  the  guidance  of  Capital.  The  workman  called 
"  Labour  "  is  no  longer  a  "hand  ";  Labour  to-day  is  an 
educated  man  and  his  wants  are  growing  and  his  outlook 
is  extending.  He  is  to-day  the  hope  of  the  optimist  and 
the  despair  of  the  pessimist.  Labour  to-day  is  ambitious, 
and  has  created  for  himself  and  his  wife  and  family  new 
and  better  standards  of  living  than  his  father,  and  still 
more  than  his  grandfather,  ever  dreamt  of. 

In  our  first  consideration  of  the  new  conditions,  let 
us  remember  that  in  dealing  with  them  sound  methods  are 
more  important  than  the  attainment  of  immediate  results; 
unfortunately,  as  between  Capital  and  Labour,  it  is  too 
often  only  the  immediate  spot- view  that  prevails.  Pres- 
ent relationships  and  present  conditions  are  causing  pro- 
found dissatisfaction  to  both  Capital  and  Labour.  This 
great  war  has  forced  upon  us  a  better  and  closer  relation- 
ship between  all  classes  in  the  British  Empire  and  has 
aroused  our  industrial  conscience.  This  war  has  revealed 
to  us  that,  bedded  in  each  and  every  stratum  of  society, 
we  can  find  the  highest  ideals  of  truest  patriotic  service; 


HARMONIZING  CAPITAL  AND  LABOUR       59 

that  for  the  cause  of  right,  life  itself  is  as  freely  given  up 
by  the  lord  as  by  the  labourer;  and  that  the  British  Em- 
pire possesses  the  finest  material  in  men  and  women,  bred 
both  in  mansion  and  cottage,  that  the  world  can  produce. 

We  only  require  to  recognize  the  rights  of  others  and 
our  own  duties  by  adapting  our  industrial  system  to  these 
high  ideals  to  do  away  for  all  time  with  the  bogey  of 
clash  of  interests  between  Capital  and  Labour.  Cannot 
Capital  and  Labour,  after  having  fought  and  died  side  by 
side  in  the  trenches  of  Flanders  and  France,  regardless 
of  wealth  or  station,  be  won  over  to  fight  for  the  suc- 
cess of  our  Empire  industrially  after  the  final  war  vic- 
tory on  the  sanguinary  field  of  battle?  Too  long  has 
there  existed  a  wide  gulf  between  Capital  and  Labour; 
for  too  long  have  suspicion  and  distrust  produced  active 
opposition  between  these  twin  brothers  in  productive 
enterprise.  Not  until  Capital  and  Labour  have  solved 
their  difficulties  in  working  frankly  and  whole-heartedly 
together  can  the  Empire  be  as  well  equipped  for  the  com- 
ing war  of  commerce  as  she  has  been  rapidly  and  effi- 
ciently equipped  for  the  war  of  armaments,  or  be  able  to 
devote  all  her  energies  to  expansion  and  betterment. 

It  is  merely  a  question  of  harmonizing  interests  and 
forces.  It  is  not  a  question  altogether  of  higher  wages, 
shorter  hours,  or  better  welfare  conditions  of  employ- 
ment. The  profound  dissatisfaction  with  present  con- 
ditions goes  much  deeper  than  this.  This  dissatisfaction 
has  its  root  and  spring  in  the  fact  that  no  attempt  has 
been  made  by  Capital  to  study  the  human  element  to  be 
dealt  with  and  handled.  The  cause  of  disagreement  be- 
tween Capital  and  Labour  is  quite  as  much  psychological 
as  it  is  material.  Human  nature  called  Labour  has  two 
very  strongly  marked  characteristics — it  is  at  one  and 
the  same  time  gregarious  and  individualistic.  To  the 
Socialist,  man  is  purely  a  gregarious  being,  and  Socialists 


60  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

find  that  they  preach  in  vain  the  doctrine  that  every  man 
ought  to  contribute  to  the  Commonwealth  according  to 
his  abilities  and  to  share  out  of  the  Commonwealth  ac- 
cording to  his  necessities.  But  apart  from  the  impracti- 
cability of  this  theory,  in  that  it  provides  no  solution 
as  to  who  shall  be  the  fair  just  judge  possessed  of  super- 
human insight,  to  decide  as  to  claims  in  contribution 
according  to  abilities  or  to  award  benefits  according  to 
necessities,  it  has  failed  hopelessly  to  interest  Labour, 
because  it  has  ignored  the  other  equally  marked  char- 
acteristic of  our  common  humanity,  namely,  that  in 
addition  to  being  gregarious,  man  is  also  strongly  and 
intensely  individualistic. 

These  being  two  very  strongly  marked  characteristics 
of  human  nature,  we  are  not  surprised  to  find  that,  whilst 
the  greatly  preponderating  majority  of  mankind  prefer 
to  live  in  communities,  such  as  cities  and  towns,  rather 
than  in  villages  or  on  the  scattered  country-side,  man- 
kind demands,  and  insists  upon  having,  his  own  indi- 
vidual house  and  home;  and  that  when  housed  in  barracks 
or  huge  tenements  piled  floor  upon  floor,  one  on  top  of 
another,  with  common  staircases,  he  rapidly  degenerates. 
Give  mankind  homes  free  from  overcrowding,  where 
each  can  enjoy  his  own  individualistic  garden  in  addition 
to  the  public  park,  then,  with  such  a  combination  of  the 
communal  life  with  individualistic  environment,  they 
improve  in  bodily  health  and  in  mental  and  moral 
strength.  Equally,  mankind  prefer  to  follow  their  daily 
occupation  in  groups  and  masses,  as  in  workshop  and 
factory.  But  the  individual  still  insists  on  retaining  his 
individualism  and  looks  for  his  own  individualistc  recog- 
nition and  reward  for  his  labour.  The  joiner  or  mechanic 
wiM  not  be  willing,  as  the  Socialist  would  wish,  to  con- 
tribute according  to  his  trained  skill  and  ability  and  re- 
ceive as  reward  exactly  the  equal,  provided  his  necessi- 


HARMONIZING  CAPITAL  AND  LABOUR       61 

ties  were  the  same,  as  the  unskilled  labourer.  He  would 
not  do  so  whether  working  at  the  State  Dockyard,  or 
Woolwich  Arsenal,  or  in  Government  Postal  Service,  any 
more  than  for  the  capitalist.  And  he  is  right,  because  the 
socialistic  system  would  make  parasites  and  paupers  of 
one-half  the  human  race. 

Now,  this  is  the  situation  we  have  to  face.  Each  of 
us  contains  in  his  own  mental  outlook  the  elements  of  an 
oligarchy  and  of  a  democracy;  and  as  our  present  in- 
dustrial system  is  founded  on  these  attributes,  it  is 
scarcely  surprising  that  it  has  been  described,  and  cor- 
rectly so,  as  an  oligarchy  existing  in  a  democratic  country. 
This  position  of  our  British  industrial  system  is  the  result 
of  the  haphazard  way  in  which  industries  have  grown  up 
from  the  small  workshop  of  two  or  three  centuries  ago, 
when  the  capitalist  was  also  a  workman,  and  master  and 
man  met  on  terms  of  equality.  But  modern  industrial 
conditions,  with  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of 
workmen,  and  in  at  least  one  industry  a  quarter  of  a 
million  workmen,  under  one  oligarchical  rule,  are  in- 
tensely anti-democratic,  and  as  such  violate  the  gregari- 
ous instincts  of  humanity.  And  just  as  it  is  true  that  the 
position  of  British  industries  to-day  is  the  result  of  yes- 
terday, so  their  position  to-morrow  will  depend  on  our 
actions  of  to-day.  Capitalists  have  now  the  task  set  them 
to  democratize  their  system,  and  to  create  conditions  that 
will  enable  Labour  to  take  some  democratic  share  in 
management,  and  some  responsibility  for  the  success  of 
the  undertaking.  Productive  and  distributive  business 
must  in  the  future  be  carried  on  under  less  oligarchic 
and  under  more  democratic  conditions.  Labour  will  not 
be  brought  to  work  side  by  side  with  and  to  harmonize 
with  Capital  merely  by  ever  higher  and  higher  wages, 
shorter  and  shorter  hours,  combined  with  better  and  bet- 
ter welfare  conditions. 


62  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

The  wages  system  has  broken  down  as  a  sole  and  only 
solution.  As  huge  businesses  have  sprung  into  existence, 
the  difficulties  of  the  wages  system  as  such  have  increased. 
It  is  impossible  under  the  wages  system  alone  to  make 
Labour  realize  that  the  true  interests  of  Labour  and 
Capital  are  identical.  There  is  a  story  told  of  a  Lanca- 
shire farmer  who,  on  his  wedding-day,  after  the  return 
from  church,  took  his  wife  into  the  orchard,  where  he 
had  arranged  a  long  rope  hanging  over  the  fork  of  a  big 
tree.  He  asked  his  wife  to  get  hold  of  one  end  of  the 
rope,  and  he  himself  took  hold  of  the  other.  He  then 
gave  the  signal  for  them  both  to  pull  their  strongest,  and 
he  soon  convinced  his  wife  that,  pulling  against  each 
other,  neither  could  pull  the  rope  over  to  his  or  her  side. 
Having  taught  this  lesson,  he  asked  that  they  should  both 
pull  together  at  one  and  the  same  end,  when,  of  course, 
the  rope  was  pulled  over  almost  without  an  effort.  Let 
us  hope  that  pulling  against  each  other  during  the  cen- 
turies past  has  taught  this  lesson  to  both  Capital  and 
Labour;  that  no  progress  can  be  made  in  that  way,  as 
compared  with  the  progress  to  be  made  by  both  pulling 
together. 

Productive  and  distributive  business  must  be  so  organ- 
ized as  to  harmonize  the  relative  positions  of  Capital  and 
Labour.  The  claim  of  Capital  for  as  big  an  output  as 
possible  at  as  low  a  cost  as  possible  has  hitherto  had  to 
pull  against  the  claims  and  aims  of  Labour  for  as  high 
wages  as  possible  with  as  restricted  an  output  as  possible. 
The  capitalist  has  a  deep-rooted  belief  in  the  fallacy  that 
the  lower  the  wages  and  the  longer  the  hours  worked  by 
Labour  are,  the  lower  the  cost  of  production  must  be — 
the  falsehood  of  which  has  been  proved,  over  and  over 
again,  by  the  low  wages  and  long  hours  of  Hindoos  and 
Chinamen,  as  compared  with  the  lower  cost  obtained 
by  the  extremely  high  wages  and  shorter  hours  of  the 


HARMONIZING  CAPITAL  AND  LABOUR       63 

United  States.  Labour  has  a  deep-rooted  belief  in  the 
fallacy  that  there  is  only  a  certain  limited  amount  of 
work  to  be  divided  amongst  an  ever-increasing  number 
of  workmen,  and  that,  consequently,  restriction  of  output 
is  the  most  sure  and  certain  way  to  provide  work  for  all ; 
the  falsehood  of  which  has  been  proved  by  the  fact  that 
restriction  of  output  has  been  shown  always  to  act  as  a 
deterrent  to  consumption  and  to  demand  for  labour, 
whilst  the  increased  output  per  man  in  the  United  States 
has  stimulated  and  increased  demand  and  resulting  em- 
ployment and  wages.  The  lesson  of  this  for  the  capital- 
ist is  that  high  wages,  short  hours,  and  good  healthy  con- 
ditions, by  increasing  intelligence  and  efficiency,  increase 
output  and  actually  reduce  costs.  And  the  lesson  for 
Labour  is  that  increased  output  stimulates  consumption, 
and,  consequently,  demand  for  production  and  distribu- 
tive labour,  the  fact  being  that  consumers  of  all  classes 
supply  themselves  where  they  can  be  best  and  most  eco- 
nomically served. 

These  are  such  well-known  and  simple  truths  that  it 
is  almost  necessary  to  apologize  for  calling  attention  to 
them.  We  thus  see  that  Capital  and  Labour,  by  faith 
in  these  fallacies,  are  merely  pulling  against  each  other. 
How  can  we  harmonize  these  conflicting  elements  ?  Only 
by  Capital  identifying  itself  with  Labour,  and  creating  for 
Labour  the  same  economic  environment  and  conditions  as 
Capital  itself  enjoys.  Only  by  entrance  into  Co-Partner- 
ship  together  can  Capital  and  Labour  be  brought  to  pull 
together,  and  only  by  Co-Partnership  can  they  be 
harmonized. 

We  are  agreed  that  the  elements  in  production  and  dis- 
tribution are  Capital  and  Labour — I  prefer  myself  to 
make  it  a  three-legged  stool  by  including  Management  as 
apart  from  both  Capital  and  Labour.  But  sometimes 
Management  is  part  of  the  activities  of  Capital,  and  at 


64  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

other  times  must  be  included  with  Labour.  We  British 
have  always  been  well  supplied  with  all  three.  We  ac- 
quired the  capital  because  we  had  Management  and 
Labour,  and  good  Management  always  accumulates  capi- 
tal. The  accumulation  of  capital  that  we  may  look 
forward  to  during  the  twentieth  century  is  bound  to  be 
greater  than  was  the  case  during  the  nineteenth  century, 
and  still  more  so  than  during  preceding  centuries.  But 
whilst  we  had  no  difficulty  under  the  existing  system  in 
the  acquisition  of  capital,  we  have  not  been  equally  suc- 
cessful in  its  distribution,  and  this  is  the  root  and  cause 
of  all  the  antagonism  between  Capital  and  Labour.  This 
system,  under  which  all  the  profits  or  losses  go  to  Capi- 
tal, ignores  entirely  the  psychology  of  the  workman.  He 
is  not  a  mere  machine  to  be  kept  well  oiled  with  good 
wages,  well  tended  by  not  being  worked  for  too  long 
hours,  and  kept  in  good  going  repair  by  welfare  systems, 
canteens,  and  good  housing  conditions.  He  is  a  complex 
human  being,  with  all  the  ambitions,  ideals,  and  mental 
outlook  possessed  by  the  capitalist  in  an  equal  and  some- 
times superior  degree. 

If  high  wages,  short  hours,  good  housing  meant  finality 
to  Labour  Unrest,  then  Labour  would  not  be  a  man  but 
a  vegetable.  Labour  has  economic  interests  that  also 
require  satisfying,  and  that  press  on  Capital  for  their 
solution.  We  have  heard  it  said  of  our  educational  sys- 
tem, that  to  make  it  complete  a  ladder  must  be  provided 
by  which  a  boy  or  girl  can  climb  from  Board  School  to 
University;  so  that  an  apt  pupil  might  have  the  oppor- 
tunity of  living  its  full  life  without  limitations  from  the 
environment  in  which  it  was  born.  To  harmonize  Capi- 
tal and  Labour  similarly,  a  ladder  must  be  provided  from 
the  humblest  position  in  industrial  organization  to  a  seat 
on  the  Board  of  Directors.  Capital  must  provide  a 
broader  outlook  for  Labour. 


HARMONIZING  CAPITAL  AND  LABOUR       65 

Has  not  the  political  orator  speechified,  has  not  the  elo- 
quent preacher  sermonized,  and  the  profound  philosopher 
theorized,  on  the  necessity  for  harmonizing  Capital  and 
Labour  ?  And  yet  it  is  all  so  very  easy  and  simple.  The 
only  possible  way  of  harmonizing  Capital  and  Labour  is 
to  provide  both  with  the  same  outlook  by  dividing  the 
profits  their  joint  labour  has  created  fairly  and  squarely 
between  them.  On  this  system,  each  will  also  automati- 
cally share  and  suffer  from  losses  when  they  have  to  be 
faced.  Step  by  step  the  lesson  is  being  taught  and  learned 
that  the  Co-Partnership  system  is  the  only  possible  sys- 
tem for  harmonizing  Capital  and  Labour;  and,  fortu- 
nately, it  is  capable  of  application  in  principle,  by  vary- 
ing methods,  to  all  but  a  very  limited  few  occupations; 
and  when  applied  honestly  and  faithfully,  it  has  invari- 
ably produced  improved  relations,  with  better  commer- 
cial results.  With  Co-Partnership  comes  less  anxiety  and 
reduced  responsibility  for  Capital,  for  with  division  of 
profits  must  also  be  included  division  of  responsibility  and 
sharing  of  control.  Co-Partners  become  more  and  more 
interested  in  the  policy  of  the  business  as  a  whole,  and 
associate  themselves  more  and  more  with  Management. 
There  is  no  conflict  in  these  Co-Partnership  results;  and 
they  satisfy  the  gregarious  and  democratic  instincts  of 
Labour  and  the  equally  strong  individualistic  instincts. 
Whilst  Co-Partnership  satisfies  the  aspirations  of  the 
civic  and  democratic  spirit  of  Labour,  the  wages  system 
(varied  as  to  rates  to  meet  varying  skill,  strength,  or 
ability,  or  combined  with  piece-work  rates  or  bonus  or 
premium  scales)  still  continues  as  a  necessary  basis  of 
remuneration  to  satisfy  the  aspirations  of  our  individual- 
istic instincts. 

If  Co-Partnership  resulted  in  exclusion  of  individual 
reward  for  individual  effort,  then  Co-Partnership  would 
be  foredoomed  to  failure  in  harmonizing  Capital  and 


66  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

Labour.  Co-Partnership  is  required,  and  indeed  is  essen- 
tial to  success,  as  a  means  of  equalization  in  the  final 
division  of  profits,  and  as  the  preventor  of  the  intrusion 
of  a  spirit  of  greed  between  Capital  and  Labour.  But 
there  is  no  reason  why  Co-Partnership,  to  meet  the  civic 
and  democratic  nature  of  humanity,  should  not  be  com- 
bined with  salaries  or  wages  varied  to  fit  abilities  and 
efficiency,  and  plus  bonus,  or  premium,  or  piece-work,  to 
supply  the  need  of  the  individualistic  spirit.  And  there 
is  no  reason  why  this  combination,  by  meeting  the  civic 
and  democratic  wants  of  humanity  and  satisfying  indi- 
vidualistic aspirations,  should  not  prove  as  successful  a 
harmonizer  as  is  possible  in  the  present  stage  of  advance- 
ment and  development  of  industrial  relationships. 

But  Co-Partnership  must  be  more  than  a  mere  division 
of  profits.  It  must  have  its  base  resting  firmly  on  the 
deep  solid  rock  of  human  nature.  It  must  be  the  means 
of  enabling  men  under  modern  conditions,  wherein 
thousands  of  workmen  are  operating  together  in  fac- 
tories, mines,  and  workshops,  to  do  so  as  real  Co- 
Partners.  Labour  must  be  Co-Partner  with  Capital  in 
fact  as  well  as  in  name.  But  this  Co-Partnership  must 
not  extinguish  or  crush  the  strong  spirit  of  individualism 
which  is  such  a  pronounced  element  in  human  nature. 
It  must  give  to  each  man  the  stimulus  and  security  of  the 
man  in  business  for  himself.  The  British  workman  has 
a  profound  distrust  and  dislike  of  paternalism.  Co- 
Partnership  can  only  fail  when  Capital  or  Labour  expect 
too  much  as  a  result  of  it,  and  where  Labour,  after  being 
taken  into  Co-Partnership,  is  not  treated  as  a  partner. 
Capital  must  not  expect  that  Labour,  after  Co-Partner- 
ship, will  cease  to  make  demands  for  higher  wages,  or 
relinquish  its  right  to  combine  in  Trade  Unions,  or  will 
not  show  disaffection  if  other  conditions  irritate  or  create 
a  feeling  of  oppression;  and,  equally,  Co-Partnership 


HARMONIZING  CAPITAL  AND  LABOUR       67 

must  not  be  shipwrecked  by  Labour  expecting  that  Capi- 
tal shall  cease  to  fill  its  function  of  control  and  to  main- 
tain discipline. 

At  the  same  time,  Trade  Unionism  ought  not  to  be  a 
barrier.  Trade  Unions  are  as  essential  under  Co-Partner- 
ship  as  under  the  present  existing  system.  Trade  Unions 
are,  for  both  Capital  and  Labour,  indispensable  as  a 
means  of  collective  bargaining.  There  is  no  reason  why 
Trade  Unions  should  be  either  apathetic,  or,  as  is  most 
often  the  case,  openly  hostile  to  Co-Partnership.  Such 
hostility  on  the  part  of  Trade  Unions  can  only  exist  so  long 
as  they  ignore  the  obvious  fact  that  to  make  Labour  Co- 
Partner  with  Capital  is  a  democratic  step  tending  in  the 
right  direction,  by  putting  Labour  on  the  road  to  share 
in  Management  and  to  enjoy  increased  welfare.  For  by 
Co-Partnership  the  total  earnings  will  be  increased  by 
Profit-Sharing,  and  the  total  earnings  must  ajways  in- 
clude the  payment  of  full  wages  on  the  Trade  Union 
scale  and  for  the  Trade  Union  working  hours.  And  it  is 
obvious  that  if  the  total  earnings  are  larger  in  Co- 
Partnership  workshops,  then  this  improvement  is  bound 
to  react  on  all  other  workshops,  and  so  Co-Partnership 
must  inevitably  tend  to  the  improvement  of  backward 
industries.  An  intelligent  Co-Partner,  working  under  the 
above  conditions,  receiving  full  Trade  Union  wages  and 
working  Trade  Union  hours  (including,  when  such  is  the 
rule  either  bonus,  premium,  or  piece-work  additions),  is 
bound  to  realize  the  value  of  his  efforts  to  the  business 
as  a  whole,  as  well  as  to  himself  as  an  individual.  A'nd 
so  the  outlook  of  the  Co-Partner  becomes  broader  and 
he  becomes  keen  to  adopt  new  methods  calculated  to  pro- 
duce a  larger  output  with  lessened  cost  of  production, 
with  the  result  of  adding  to  the  profits  in  which  he  him- 
self and  all  Co-Partners  share.  High  wages,  bonuses, 
premiums,  or  piece-work,  apart  from  a  system  of  Co- 


68  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

Partnership,  can  alone  bring  no  solution  of  Labour  dif- 
ficulties. Only  the  true  spirit  of  Co-Partnership  can  tend 
in  this  direction,  and,  by  combining  the  democratic  with 
the  individualistic  attributes  of  human  nature,  will  result 
not  only  in  higher  total  earnings  but  greater  efficiency, 
happier  life,  and  improved  mental  condition.  Therefore, 
the  opposition  of  Trade  Unions  can  only  be  based  on 
some  fundamental  misconception  which  assumes  that 
the  interests  of  Capital  and  Labour  are  diametrically  op- 
posed to  each  other.  Time,  and  the  steady  growth  of  the 
Co-Partnership  movement,  alone  can  correct  this. 

Co-Partnership  can  do  no  more  than  produce  the  right 
environment  and  create  conditions  for  Capital  and  Labour 
that  are  mutually  healthy  and  stimulating.  Thanks  to 
our  various  Education  Acts,  from  1870  up  to  the  present 
time,  Labour  to-day  is  alert  and  intelligent,  and  has 
imbibed  ambitions  and  aspirations,  and  in  addition 
Labour  is  gaining  experience  every  day  by  service  on 
local  government  bodies  and  on  Trade  Union  commit- 
tees, and  is  the  better  prepared  and  equipped  to  take 
greater  responsibilities,  but  Labour  must  move  gradually 
and  somewhat  slowly  to  the  higher  sphere  of  Director- 
ships. 

But  throughout  it  all,  in  seeking  to  harmonize  Capital 
and  Labour  we  must  never  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  what 
is  called  the  present  Labour  Unrest  is  healthy  and  en- 
couraging, for  it  discloses  a  psychological  problem  just 
as  large  as  one  of  wages  and  of  hours  of  employment. 
And  in  this  aspect,  Co-Partnership  means  much  more  than 
sharing  profits  as  an  addition  to  wages.  It  means  the 
spirit  of  comradeship — the  spirit  that  recognizes  equality 
and  brotherhood;  and  it  is  working  on  these  lines  that 
the  harmonizing  of  Capital  and  Labour  best  promises  to 
dispel  the  present  atmosphere  of  suspicion  and  distrust. 


V 
CO-PARTNERSHIP 

OF  all  subjects,  the  one  of  the  greatest  interest  to  myself, 
and  the  one  to  which  I  have  probably  given  the  closest 
study  outside  my  own  business,  is  that  of  Co-Partnership. 
I  believe  that  all  manufacturers  to-day  are  exposed  to 
more  criticism  than  probably  any  other  class  of  the  com- 
munity. We  are  expected  to  adopt  every  method  of  every 
faddist  in  connection  with  our  industry,  while  each  one  of 
us  knows  that  if  a  manufacturer  adopts  any  method  that 
does  not  tend  to  produce  more  goods  of  a  superior  quality 
in  less  time,  and  at  the  same  time  pay  labour  higher 
wages,  and  give  labour  shorter  hours,  and  simultaneously 
give  goods  to  the  consumer  at  a  reduced  cost,  that  manu- 
facturer is  led  away  from  the  ordinary  commercial  chan- 
nels into  by-paths  of  dalliance  that  can  lead  nowhere, 
and  he  is  bound  to  come  to  ruin. 

At  present,  Labour  is  in  the  position  of  Debenture 
Holder  on  all  industries.  Placed  in  that  position  by  the 
law,  if  any  firm  becomes  bankrupt,  even  before  the  De- 
benture Holder  receives  his  money,  wages  must  be  paid 
in  full,  and,  therefore,  Labour  stands  in  the  position  of 
Debenture  Holder. 

The  three  forces  that  go  for  production  are :  Capital, 
Labour,  and  Management.  I  know  sometimes  these  are 
separated  and  made  into  two  forces,  called  Labour  and 
Capital,  but  this  is  not  a  true  division.  There  are  really 
three  forces,  Capital,  Labour,  and  Management,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  very  often  Capital  and  Manage- 
ment are  comprised  in  the  same  person. 

69 


70  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

Now,  the  position  is  this,  that  Labour  receives  a  fixed 
rate  of  wages;  Capital  receives  its  fixed  rate  of  interest; 
and  the  product  is  a  product  of  varying  value,  according 
to  market  conditions,  and  affected  by  the  harvests  of  raw 
materials  all  over  the  world.  Consequently,  when  you 
have  two  fixed  factors  and  a  variable  product,  it  is  ob- 
vious that  the  reward  of  Management,  called  profit,  must 
be  a  variable  quantity — sometimes  it  may  be  great,  some- 
times it  may  be  small,  and  very  often  it  must  disappear 
entirely,  only  showing  loss.  Now,  that  is  the  position 
to-day,  and  practically  the  position  of  Labour  is  this — 
it  comes  to  the  employer  and  says,  "  I  can't  store  my 
labour;  my  labour  has  to  be  sold  each  day,  and  must  be 
turned  to  account  each  day.  If  I  do  not  make  use  of 
to-day's  labour  to-day,  I  cannot  do  so  to-morrow.  I 
cannot  store  it  until  a  favourable  opportunity  for  selling 
it  occurs.  I  must  sell  each  day's  labour  to-day — the  day 
in  which  I  exist.  Now,  with  Capital,  and  with  com- 
modities, you  may  be  able  to  stand  the  fluctuating  mar- 
kets ;  I  cannot — my  commodity  won't  keep.  In  addition 
to  that,  I  have  a  wife  and  family  to  keep,  besides  myself, 
and  I  must  be  assured  every  week  of  my  weekly  wage. 
Whether  the  product  I  produce  for  you  realizes  profit  or 
loss  for  you,  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  that;  I  cannot 
have  anything  to  do  with  it.  I  must  be  assured  of  my 
weekly  wage,  and  if  there  is  a  profit,  you  are  welcome 
to  it.  If  there  is  a  loss,  I  cannot  help  you  to  share  it." 
Now,  this  is  the  attitude  Labour  takes  up,  and  rightly 
takes  up.  It  practically  becomes  a  Debenture  Holder. 
Remember  that  is  also  the  position  of  the  Debenture 
Holder.  The  Debenture  Holder  says,  "  I  do  not  want 
big  profits ;  I  want  an  assured  rate  of  interest  with  abso- 
lute security.  I  would  rather  have  a  sure  4  per  cent,  or 
4j^  per  cent,  on  this  business  than  I  would  have  the 
Ordinary  Shares,  with  a  possible  10  per  cent,  or  a  pos- 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  71 

sible  nothing;  therefore  give  me  Debentures."  There- 
fore Labour  and  the  Debenture  Holder  stand  side  by 
side.  Labour  and  the  Debenture  Holder,  in  asking  for 
no  share  in  losses,  are  placed  in  that  position,  relinquish- 
ing voluntarily,  or  of  necessity,  in  order  to  maintain  their 
security,  any  prospective  share  of  profits.  Now  if  we, 
therefore,  approach  this  subject,  We  might  find — if  we 
approach  it  in  the  wrong  way,  we  should  certainly  find — 
all  we  had  done  was  to  change  the  position.  On  any  at- 
tempt to  restrict  Management  from  the  receipt  of  prof- 
its, jointly  created,  Management  becoming  a  fixed  charge, 
Capital  remaining  a  fixed  charge,  but  with  the  produce 
still  variable  in  value,  then  Labour  would  have  to  be 
the  one  that  had  to  take  the  variable  remainder.  So  that 
this  is  manifestly  one  of  those  propositions  which  one  has 
to  handle  with  the  utmost  care  in  order  to  be  perfectly 
sure  that  in  our  intention  to  benefit  Labour  we  have  not 
unintentionally  made  the  position  worse. 

And  I  would  remind  you  that  Trade  Unions  have, 
rightly,  set  no  value  upon  Profit-Sharing  schemes.  They 
have  never  been  interested  in  them  at  any  time.  They 
have  never  seen  in  Profit-Sharing  schemes  anything 
worth  exchanging  for  the  right  to  bargain  for  Labour  at 
the  highest  market  price  that  Labour  can  obtain;  and  I 
say  they  are  right  in  that,  for  through  the  influence  of 
Trade  Unions  Labour  has  been  able  to  make  better  terms 
and  better  arrangements  financially,  in  the  form  of  in- 
creased wages  without  risks  of  loss,  than  could  have  been 
made  under  any  system  of  Profit-Sharing  or  Partner- 
ship. 

Now,  I  will  tell  you  how  this  operates.  Industries  are 
started  in  this  country,  and  in  the  early  days  of  these 
industries  there  is  practically  very  little  competition 
amongst  the  holders  of  these  industries,  and  profits  are 
inflated,  with  the  result  that  a  rush  takes  place  of  money 


72  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

into  such  industries,  and  a  rush  of  capital  means  that 
more  men  are  employed  in  them.  The  wages  remain  a 
fixed  charge,  and  in  consequence  of  the  inrush  of  capital 
and  the  greatly  increased  output,  the  value  of  the  prod- 
uct, represented  by  the  price  it  will  fetch  on  the  market, 
has  a  serious  fall ;  but  the  result  of  that  new  industry  has 
been  to  employ  more  capital,  and  every  additional  work- 
man put  on  in  that  new  industry  has  relieved 
the  labour  market,  and  enabled  Trade  Unions  the  better 
to  bargain  for  an  advance  in  wages  for  all  labour  in  that 
industry  and  out  of  it.  When  you  turn  to  the  cotton 
industry  (I  come  from  a  cotton  manufacturing  county — 
Lancashire),  in  my  younger  days  a  cotton-spinner  was 
called  a  "  cotton-lord,"  and  he  was,  relatively,  getting  a 
very  much  higher  return  on  his  capital  than  could  pos- 
sibly be  obtained  to-day.  I  know  of  cases  in  those  days 
when  a  man  could  build  a  new  mill  out  of  the  profits  of 
the  old  one  in  three  years,  and  so  on ;  but  that  has  com- 
pletely passed  away  with  the  organization  of  the  indus- 
try, and  with  its  becoming  more  stable  and  more  settled. 
Such  a  state  of  affairs  as  that  could  not  exist  long.  It 
was  sure  to  attract  fresh  capital,  and  it  was  sure  to  pro- 
duce a  cutting  down  of  profits;  but  the  very  conditions 
that  operated  adversely  for  the  Management,  reducing 
the  profits,  operated  in  the  direction  of  raising  the  wages 
of  the  workmen.  If  you  take  the  cotton  mills  of  Oldham, 
the  balance-sheets  of  which  are  public  property,  you  will 
find  this  extraordinary  result,  that  in  the  last  thirty 
years  the  payment  of  Management — because  most  of 
these  mills  got  the  bulk  of  their  capital  in  Preference 
Shares  and  Debentures — the  payment  of  Management 
represented  by  the  rate  of  dividends  on  Ordinary  Shares 
has  decreased  by  50  per  cent.,  and  wages  to  Labour,  as 
shown  by  the  Trade  Union  rate  of  wages,  has  during  the 
same  period  increased  by  40  per  cent.  Now,  that  is  with- 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  73 

out  any  Profit-Sharing  at  all.  That  is  the  ordinary  eco- 
nomic working  of  supply  and  demand,  what  is  called  the 
competitive  forces  that  go  on  in  all  our  industries;  and 
therefore  we  have  got  to  be  extremely  careful  in  ap- 
proaching this  subject,  because  I  am  convinced  of  this, 
that  anything  which  tends  to  complicate  the  basis  on 
which  Labour  is  paid  makes  it  more  difficult  for  Labour 
to  obtain  the  highest  possible  price;  and  if  we  introduce 
a  complication  of  any  kind,  we  might,  so  far  from  pro- 
ducing any  benefits  to  those  we  desire  to  benefit,  produce 
exactly  the  opposite  result. 

Now,  when  we  come  to  examine  Profit-Sharing 
schemes,  I  want  to  point  out  this  ominous  fact.  They 
have  been  commenced  in  the  commercial  world  and  have 
been  in  active  operation  for  over  seventy  years,  yet  the 
Board  of  Trade  Return  issued  on  this  very  subject 
shows  that  the  average  life  of  Profit-Sharing  schemes 
with  firms  is  only  five  years;  that  whilst  there  may  be 
some  that  have  existed  for  twenty  years  or  longer,  the 
average  duration  is  only  five  years;  and  the  last  return 
of  all,  issued  in  February  of  this  year,  shows  that  at  the 
present  moment  only  forty-nine  firms  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  employing  some  64,000  workpeople — only 
64,000  out  of  millions  of  workpeople  represented  by  the 
Trade  Unions — only  forty-nine  firms  were  dividing 
profits  with  their  workmen.  Now,  that  is  a  fact  that 
you  have  got  to  bear  in  mind.  And  another  point  I 
want  to  mention  (and  it  has  been  the  cause  of  the  break- 
up of  many  Profit-Sharing  arrangements)  is,  that  Profit- 
Sharing  does  not  prevent  strikes.  I  know  it  was  hoped 
that  under  a  Profit-Sharing  arrangement  strikes  would 
cease,  but  how  could  it  have  that  effect?  If  a  workman 
hears  that  in  an  adjoining  colliery,  as  has  often  been  the 
case  with  a  Profit-Sharing  colliery,  a  rise  in  wages  has 
taken  place,  while  he  in  the  colliery  where  he  shares  the 


74  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

profits  gets  no  such  advantage  in  wages,  surely  he  is 
bound  to  resent  what  must  appear  to  him  nothing  other 
than  some  arrangement  under  which  he  is  asked  to  take 
less  wages  than  he  is  entitled  to,  and  must  resort  to 
strikes,  which  he  consequently  does.  It  is  absolutely 
certain  that  no  one  will  accept  a  Profit-Sharing  arrange- 
ment in  exchange  for  some  abatement  from  the  highest 
rate  of  wages  he  is  entitled  to  receive.  Well,  now,  there 
is  another  advantage  in  having  wages  fixed  by  Trade 
Unions.  It  is  that  in  competition  amongst  masters  it  is 
of  great  importance,  in  my  opinion,  that  masters  amongst 
each  other  should  not  have  the  opportunity  of  competing 
in  the  rate  of  wages;  that  the  wage  fund  should  be  fixed, 
and  that  any  man  giving  a  tender  in  competition  with 
another  tender  should  not  have  any  advantage  out  of  a 
lower  wage  fund.  The  only  effect  that  could  have  would 
be  gradually  to  bear  down  the  wage  fund.  "  A"  takes 
a  contract  to-day  because  he  can  get  labour  for  less  than 
"  B."  "  B,"  not  content  with  that,  makes  a  correspond- 
ing arrangement  and  takes  something  next  time  out  of 
the  wages  fund.  There  would  be  no  end  to  it.  There- 
fore, there  is  a  great  advantage  in  the  wages  being  fixed. 
Any  Profit-Sharing  arrangement,  therefore,  that  was 
based  upon  what  you  might  call  pooling  the  profits,  La- 
bour getting  an  uncertain  share,  would  be  sure  to  be 
disastrous  in  every  way. 

Well,  now,  I  want  to  point  out  that  sometimes  employ- 
ers are  treated  in  the  Press  to  a  very  great  deal  of  what 
I  may  call  "  cheap  morality."  Hard  employers  are  railed 
against,  employers  that  are  working  on  uncertain  condi- 
tions are  held  up  to  public  odium.  Now,  I  say  this  with- 
out hesitation,  and  I  think  I  can  afford  to  say  it  because 
you  know  what  I  believe.  There  could  be  no  worse 
friend  to  Labour  than  the  benevolent,  philanthropic  em- 
ployer who  carries  his  business  on  in  a  loose,  lax  manner, 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  75 

showing  "  kindness  "  to  his  employees ;  because,  as  cer- 
tain as  that  man  exists,  because  of  his  looseness  and  lax- 
ness,  and  because  of  his  so-called  kindness,  benevolence, 
and  lack  of  business  principles,  sooner  or  later  he  will  be 
compelled  to  close.  On  the  other  hand,  although  it 
sounds  hard,  that  man  who  adheres  strictly  to  business 
principles,  who  pays,  of  course,  the  highest  rate  of  wages, 
because  to-day  it  is  not  possible  to  pay  less,  and  carries 
on  his  business  on  so-called  "  hard  "  lines,  will  not  be  the 
worst  friend  of  Labour  at  all.  '  This  man  who  is  employ- 
ing labour  on  strictly  business  principles  is  not  the  least 
respected  by  Labour  in  any  way,  and  ought  not  to  be. 

To  take  another  point,  the  incapable  employer  does  not 
make  profits,  the  capable  employer  does  make  profits;  so 
therefore  we  find  in  different  businesses  not  only  the 
profits  vary,  but  in  the  same  business  you  have  varying 
profits  because  of  the  varying  capacity  of  the  employer. 
Now,  the  incapable  employer  making  small  profits  may 
not  excite  the  envy,  criticism,  and  remarks  that  are 
hurled  at  the  man  of  more  capacity  who  earns  larger 
profits,  but  he  is  doing  his  workmen  a  great  injury. 
Supposing  he  has  100  workmen  and  fails  to  make  profits. 
He  gradually  ceases  to  be  able  to  employ  100;  he  cannot 
keep  up  renewals  of  machinery  and  upkeep  out  of  the 
profits,  so  in  time  he  has  to  discharge  50  of  his  men. 
He  is  now  employing  50.  It  is  true  that  the  loss  falls 
on  him,  but  it  equally  falls  on  the  100.  It  is  true  it  only 
appears  to  fall  on  50  out  of  the  100,  because  only  50 
were  discharged,  but  that  50  discharged  have  to  the  ex- 
tent of  50  depressed  the  labour  market,  and  lowered  the 
demand  for  labour  by  competing  with  men  in  occupation 
for  labour.  On  the  other  hand,  the  more  capable  em- 
ployer, employing  100,  makes  profits,  and  because  he  is 
making  profits  desires  to  increase  his  business.  He 
doubles  his  plant,  puts  more  money  into  the  business, 


76  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

and  employs  200  men,  and  is  still  making  money.  That 
man  is  not  only  benefiting  himself  and  the  200  men  he 
employs,  but  the  whole  body  of  workmen,  by  his  taking 
100  workmen  off  the  market  and  finding  them  occupa- 
tion, so  benefiting  the  whole  of  them. 

Now,  I  do  not  want  you  to  think  that  in  any  case  la- 
bour can  be  paid  out  of  capital.  It  is  not,  and  we  find 
this  curious  fact,  which  has  to  be  explained  by  those 
who  rail  against  the  position  of  Capital,  that  wages  are 
always  highest  in  those  countries  where  not  only  is 
capital  most  plentiful  and  where  capital  earns  the  highest 
rate  of  dividends,  but  wages  are  always  lowest  in  those 
countries  where  there  is  the  least  capital  employed,  and 
where  capital  earns  the  lowest  return.  In  England,  wages 
are  high  and  the  return  on  capital  is  high.  If  you  go  to 
Spain,  there  is  less  capital  employed  than  in  England, 
and  the  return  on  capital  is  lower  and  the  wages  to  la- 
bourers are  lower.  If  you  go  across  to  India,  you  will 
find  there  is  less  money  again  available  in  industries,  and 
there  is  less  return  on  money  in  industries,  and  you  find 
labour  pay  at  the  lowest  ebb  of  all,  a  fact  which  you 
can  prove  for  yourself.  In  all  countries  where  capital  is 
plentiful  and  receives  the  highest  return,  there  wages  are 
highest.  Therefore,  we  come  to  see  clearly  that  it  is  in- 
telligence and  wealth  that  raise  profits  and  wages,  and 
ignorance  and  poverty  that  lower  profits  and  wages. 
Therefore  there  can  be  no  antagonism  between  Capital 
and  Labour,  and  if  we  want  to  raise  the  position  of  the 
workers  we  cannot  do  that  by  lessening  the  wealth  of  any 
other  class.  Now,  there  are  laws  in  the  business  world 
just  as  rigid  and  just  as  inviolable  as  laws  in  the  physical 
world,  and  therefore  we  come  to  this  axiom,  that  the 
only  way  in  which  wages  can  be  increased  is  to  increase 
the  efficiency  of  Labour,  and  therefore  the  quality  and 
quantity  of  the  product.  Wages  can  only  be  paid  out  of 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  77 

the  fund  that  is  created  by  Labour,  and  therefore,  if  we 
adopted  Profit-Sharing  under  the  idea  that  we  should  get 
a  short-cut  that  would  clear  us  of  all  our  troubles — if 
Profit-Sharing  meant  inducing  a  number  of  men  to  lean 
on  each  other,  and  to  lean  on  the  man  at  the  top,  and  to 
think  that  he  by  his  magic  wand  called  Profit-Sharing 
could  distribute  a  share  of  profits  every  year  to  improve 
their  position — this  would  be  an  enormous  mistake :  it 
could  not  last  long.  Therefore  we  find  the  average  dur- 
ation of  life  of  Profit-Sharing  schemes  is  only  five  years, 
and  we  find  that  those  men  who  try  to  mix  philanthropy 
and  benevolence  with  business  find  it  a  mixture  that  is  no 
more  possible  than  oil  and  water — that  you  cannot  mix 
them.  The  business  has  to  be  conducted  on  sound  busi- 
ness principles,  just  as  mills  and  factories  must  be 
equipped  with  the  most  modern  machinery. 

Yes,  but  then,  when  you  have  got  all  your  business 
methods  and  all  your  modern  machinery  and  modern 
science,  there  still  does  enter  into  the  calculation  the 
human  factor;  and  I  say  that  the  employer  who  merely 
guards  machinery  so  as  to  prevent  accidents  in  his  fac- 
tory that  he  would  have  to  pay  for,  has  entirely  mistaken 
the  true  position.  The  true  position  is  this,  that  if  the 
hazardous  nature  of  any  occupation  is  reduced,  if  busi- 
nesses that  are  unhealthy  are  made  healthy,  they  become 
attractive  to  a  greater  body  of  workmen,  a  more  intelli- 
gent class  of  workmen,  and  that  industry  carried  on  by  a 
more  intelligent  class  of  workmen  is  much  more  likely  to 
succeed  than  if  carried  on  by  a  class  that  is  less  intelligent 
and  less  businesslike,  so  that  the  Compensation  Act  has 
another  side  to  it  than  the  payment  under  the  Act.  Well, 
now,  I  would  say,  referring  to  that  illustration,  that  there 
is  the  human  factor  in  every  works,  and  for  the  employer 
to  merely  consider  the  driving  of  the  hardest  bargain  with 
his  labour,  and  to  get  his  labour  at  the  lowest  price,  and 


78  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

to  endeavour  to  force  out  of  his  labour  the  maximum 
amount  of  work  that  he  can,  is  not  to  proceed  in  a  manner 
which  will  favour  his  own  ends.  He  will  not  do  it,  he 
cannot  do  it;  and  I  say  this  to  the  workmen;  that  the 
workmen  who  think  that  by  reducing  the  output — what 
is  called  in  the  North  the  "  ca'  canny  "  policy — they  will 
increase  wages  to  Labour,  and  do  well  to  make  a  job  for 
two  men  spin  out  for  three,  are  equally  mistaken,  and 
that  they  will  not  improve  Labour  by  that  method.  The 
only  way  these  two,  Management  and  Labour,  can 
create  a  fund  to  increase  profits — out  of  which  wages 
and  profits  are  paid,  out  of  which  it  is  possible  to  pay  the 
highest  rate  of  dividends  and  wages — is  to  increase  the 
quality  of  the  product  and  increase  the  quantity  of  the 
product;  that  can  only  be  done  by  becoming  more  effi- 
cient. It  cannot  be  done  by  working  a  greater  or  less 
number  of  hours;  it  can  only  be  done  by  making  men 
in  every  way  more  efficient. 

We  find,  then,  that  all  the  forces  of  production — Capi- 
tal, Labour,  and  Management — must  work  together; 
must  work  to  one  common  end,  must  work  on  lines  oi 
enlightened  self-interest,  and  not  on  the  lines  of  narrow 
personal  selfishness,  if  any  good  is  to  be  done.  Now, 
what  feasible  method  have  we  of  drawing  those  forces 
together?  Well,  let  us  carry  our  minds  back  to  examine 
the  stages  the  industry  of  this  country  has  passed 
through,  and  see  whether  we  have  any  greater  step  to 
make  to-day  than  our  forefathers  had  at  various  periods. 
In  the  first  period  of  all,  we  were  savages,  we  were 
controlled  by  a  chief,  and  if  we  met  any  other  group  of 
men  who  did  not  belong  to  our  section  or  tribe,  we 
promptly  killed  them  if  we  could.  And  it  was  considered 
a  businesslike  arrangement,  I  have  no  doubt,  in  those 
days,  for  the  very  simple  reason  that  if  we  did  not  suc- 
ceed in  killing  them  they  would  have  killed  us,  and  that 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  79 

was  the  whole  basis  of  the  state  of  savagery.  No  work- 
ing together  was  possible.  The  most  you  could  say  was 
that  the  members  of  one  tribe  or  little  settlement  would 
work  together,  but  the  next  tribe  or  settlement  would  be 
their  deadly  enemies,  and  we  have  that,  of  course,  exist- 
ing in  every  uncivilized  part  of  the  world  to  this  day. 
After  the  state  of  savagery  we  developed  into  a  state 
of  slavery;  that  was  the  next  step  forward;  and  there  is 
no  doubt  that  under  slavery  life  was  protected,  which 
was  one  great  gain,  and  consequently  more  effective  work 
was  done  for  the  community  under  a  state  of  slavery 
than  was  possible  under  a  state  of  savagery.  I  have  not 
the  slightest  doubt  that  slave  owners  of  those  days  con- 
sidered it  was  perfectly  businesslike  to  drive  their  slaves 
to  work  with  the  lash  and  the  whip,  and  they  would  have 
thought  kindness  and  consideration  perfectly  unbusiness- 
like and  impossible  to  carry  on ;  in  fact,  if  in  buying  and 
selling  their  slaves  they  had  considered  them  any  other 
than  cattle,  if  they  had  hesitated  for  a  moment  to  drag 
them  to  where  they  could  get  a  good  price,  it  would  have 
been  considered  unbusinesslike  and  maudlin  sentiment. 
In  the  present  days  of  wages  it  is  very  nearly  considered 
unbusinesslike  and  bordering  on  philanthropy  to  do 
anything  more  for  workmen  than  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary, and  strict  business  to  get  out  of  the  workmen 
the  largest  amount  of  work  by  driving  and  by  forcing 
methods  rather  than  reasonable  and  proper  methods. 
Well,  I  say  this :  we  living  to-day  have  not  to  make  any- 
thing like  so  great  a  stride  to  take  the  workman  from  the 
wage-drawer — I  use  the  word  "  drawer  "  because  you 
cannot  say  under  the  wage  system  that  it  is  always 
earned :  a  great  section  of  men  earn  more  than  they  draw; 
and  the  other  section  earn  less  than  they  draw — I  say 
it  is  nothing  like  as  big  a  jump  from  the  position  of 
wage-drawer  to  that  of  co-partner  as  there  was  from 


80  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

savagery  to  slavery  and  from  slavery  to  wage  payment. 
But,  whilst  it  may  be  difficult  to  do  so,  and  whilst,  in 
addition,  I  may  make  a  great  many  mistakes — for,  as  I 
said  at  the  beginning,  the  margin  of  safety  is  extremely 
small — still,  during  the  last  twenty  years  I  have  tried 
first  one  method  and  then  another  working  in  that  direc- 
tion. I  have  always  preferred  to  call  my  previous  meth- 
ods Prosperity-Sharing,  and  not  Profit-Sharing,  because 
I  feel  that  Prosperity-Sharing  best  describes  my  ideals. 
I  feel  that  when  a  business  prospers  it  means  that  all  the 
factors  have  entered  into  that  success.  It  is  perfectly 
certain  that  no  one  man  could  be  responsible  for  all  the 
success,  and  therefore,  if  the  business  prospers,  I  like  to 
take  the  illustration  of  the  family.  If  a  father  prospers 
in  life  he  moves  into  a  better  house,  his  children  get  a 
better  education,  get  better  clothes,  more  holidays  in 
summer,  and  so  on;  that  is,  without  touching  his  profits 
at  all.  If  that  father  said  to  his  children,  "  I  have  made 
so  much  more  this  year,  and  will  divide  so  much  more 
with  you/'  in  my  opinion  the  effect  of  that  on  the  chil- 
dren would  be  that  the  next  year,  when  the  father  had 
reverses  in  business  and  had  losses,  the  children  would 
begin  to  criticize  him  and  say,  "  How  is  it  that  father 
is  so  much  more  a  fool  this  year  than  last — why  did  he 
open  that  new  office  in  London  and  lose  his  money  ?  " 
On  the  other  hand,  if  he  does  not  say  anything  about  his 
income,  but  gradually  betters  his  family,  he  can  tide  over 
those  bad  years  and  carry  on  without  their  knowing  any- 
thing about  it.  Therefore,  I  commenced  building  houses, 
gradually  improving  the  conditions  without  touching 
profits,  which  I  did  not  wish  to  do.  I  felt  I  might  make 
a  very  serious  mistake,  because  steps  taken  in  that  way 
could  not  be  retraced. 

Now,  another  point  comes  up  for  our  consideration 
when  we  go  beyond  Prosperity-Sharing,  namely,  the  con- 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  81 

trol  of  the  business.  Who  is  going  to  have  control  in  a 
universal  partnership  ?  Now,  here  we  come,  in  my  opin- 
ion, to  what  may  form  a  way  out  of  the  difficulty.  Just 
as  taxation  and  representation  must  go  together,  so  it 
seems  to  me  loss-bearing  and  control  must  go  together. 
The  man  or  body  of  men  who  say  they  will  bear  all  the 
losses,  have  the  right,  because  they  say  they  are  going  to 
bear  the  losses,  to  say  they  will  have  the  control,  and  it  is 
for  them  to  say  to  what  extent  they  would  like  to  have  the 
assistance  in  the  control  of  those  associated  with  them; 
and  just  as  Labour  cannot  say  that  it  will  take  any  losses, 
so  Labour,  wanting  to  be  in  the  position  of  Debenture 
Holder,  has  no  right  to  say,  "  I  will  fix  the  policy  of  this 
business."  If  Labour  claims  it  is  right  for  Labour  to  fix 
the  policy,  it  is  quite  obvious  that  such  policy  might  re- 
sult in  losses,  and  as  Labour  could  not  bear  such  losses, 
it  is  clear  that  Management,  forced  to  adopt  a  policy  fixed 
by  Labour,  would  have  to  bear  the  losses  alone,  whereas 
if  there  were  profits  they  would  have  to  share  them.  It 
would  be  a  perfectly  unfair  arrangement  that  would  not 
be  right.  To  merely  give  out  profits  as  sort  of  doles,  in 
my  opinion,  would  be  equally  wrong.  We  must  cultivate 
the  self-respect  of  everybody  we  work  with.  There  is 
not  a  man  but  must  be  able  to  look  you  in  the  face  and 
say  he  owes  you  nothing,  that  he  does  not  want  cheques 
if  he  does  not  earn  them ;  if  he  does  not  earn  them  as 
much  as  you  have  earned  them,  he  does  not  want  them. 
Therefore,  we  now  come  to  consider  on  what  possible 
basis  we  can  work  in  Profit-Sharing. 

In  my  opinion,  ordinary  Profit-Sharing  has  been 
proved  and  found  wanting.  Prosperity-Sharing  is  very 
good,  but  does  not  go  far  enough.  Now,  then,  we  come 
to  a  possible  adoption  of  Co-Partnership.  Now,  in  this 
Co-Partnership  arrangement  it  must  be  fixed,  as  I  have 
said,  that  those  who  alone  bear  the  losses  must  take  the 


82  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

control.  For  those  who  do  not  bear  losses,  whilst  their 
help  in  Management  would  be  welcomed,  control  is  not 
a  right  that  they  can  demand  until  they  share  in  the 
losses.  Not  until  Labour  can  share  in  losses  as  well  as 
in  profits  can  Labour  assume  control.  It  is  quite  clear 
that  in  all  well-organized  industries  some  must  work  with 
their  heads  and  others  with  their  hands.  If  food,  cloth- 
ing, and  homes  are  to  be  won  for  the  whole  body  of 
workers,  there  must  be  a  head  prepared  to  control.  I 
firmly  believe  that  the  more  we  recognize  each  other  as 
brothers,  within  the  proper  limits  of  control,  the  more 
we  shall  raise  ourselves  as  well  as  those  who  work  with 
us.  The  whole  body,  employers  and  employees,  will  be 
raised  together.  Now,  the  employer  has,  by  force  of 
circumstances,  learned  his  lesson  already.  He  has  been 
taught  that  the  best  way  for  him  to  conduct  his  business 
is  to  improve  the  quality  and,  as  far  as  possible,  reduce 
the  cost  of  his  output,  and  that  that  is  the  only  way  in 
which  he  can  extend  his  business  and  increase  his  profits. 
The  workman  has  not  learned  that  lesson  because  he  has 
never  had  a  chance  of  learning  it ;  he  has  never  been  able 
to  have  such  a  connection  with  the  business  as  would 
bring  that  lesson  home  to  him,  and  therefore  it  is  by 
admission  to  Co-Partnership  that  he  will  learn  it,  and  be- 
ing in  Co-Partnership  he  will  see  that  it  is  only  out  of 
the  fund  created  in  the  business  itself  that  an  improve- 
ment or  advancement  is  to  be  made  in  the  position  of 
Labour.  Certainly,  Co-Partnership,  if  not  viewed  in 
this  light,  if  it  has  not  the  effect  of  increasing  products 
in  value  and  quantity,  cannot  result  in  increasing  the 
wages,  and  cannot  lead  to  any  betterment  to  the  work- 
ers. Co-Partnership,  therefore,  must  first  ask — I  am 
not  giving  these  points  in  order  of  priority  and  not  in 
order  of  importance,  as  they  are  practically  all  equal — 
how  can  we  increase  the  output,  improve  the  quality, 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  83 

reduce  cost,  lead  to  greater  care  of  tools  and  machinery, 
greater  oconomy  of  materials,  and  greatly  reduce  what  is 
at  present  an  inseparable  burden  on  all  industries,  the 
cost  of  supervision?  I  know  supervision  is  at  present, 
and  always  will  be  to  a  certain  extent,  an  absolute  neces- 
sity, but  I  often  think  if  we  could  be  Co-Partners  we 
should  greatly  reduce  that  cost,  and  we  should  have  gone 
a  long  way  in  reducing  the  cost  of  production.  Just  as 
a  slave  worked  better  than  a  man-eating  savage,  and  a 
wage-drawer  worked  better  than  a  slave,  I  am  convinced 
that  a  Co-Partner  will  do  better  work  and  more  of  it, 
with  less  personal  fatigue,  under  better  social  conditions 
for  himself,  wife,  and  family,  because  his  efficiency  will 
be  increased,  than  the  wage-drawer ;  and  it  is  only  in  that 
direction  that  we  can  uphold  and  maintain  our  system  of 
Co-Partnership  as  better  infinitely  than  any  system  of 
Profit-Sharing. 

Now,  what  I  want  to  say  to  the  employer  is :  "  Here  is 
our  system.  It  means  well,  and  we  are  going  to  give  it 
a  fair  trial.  I  believe  it  promises  well  because  it  gives 
to  the  employee  freer  scope  for  the  exercise  of  his  abili- 
ties, it  raises  him  and  makes  him  a  better  man.  This  it 
is  bound  to  do.  The  tendency  is  that  the  worry  and  cares 
of  Management  ought  to  be  relieved  by  it.  Working 
with  a  body  of  Partners  must  be  infinitely  better  than 
working  with  a  body  of  wage-drawers,  and  assuredly  I 
believe,  as  certain  as  we  are  here,  the  wage  fund  and 
profit  fund  will  not  be  reduced  if  we  all  understand  it 
and  work  together;  but  even  supposing  the  profit  were 
reduced,  but  that  those  at  the  head  of  the  firm,  the  Man- 
agers, have  lost  the  worry  and  the  anxious  time,  even 
then  I  say  that  it  is  worth  more  than  any  amount  of 
money." 

To  the  employee  I  would  say :  "  You  are  now  offered 
an  opportunity  of  sharing  profits  with  Capital  and  Man- 


84  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

agement,  and  have  now  the  opportunity  to  show  the  kind 
of  man  you  are;  join  hands  with  your  Co-Partners  in  a 
manly  agreement  to  do  your  part  in  the  Co-Partnership. 
You  will  continue  to  receive  the  highest  rate  of  wages 
and  will  work  the  regulation  hours,  with  all  overtime 
rates  that  are  provided  on  the  fullest  scale  that  has  ever 
been  paid  or  arranged.  Join  hands  with  me  to  make  the 
profits  of  this  business  sure  and  increasing.  Let  it  not 
be  a  one-sided  Co-Partnership.  There  must  be  a  fund 
created  out  of  which  you  can  benefit.  There  cannot 
be  any  one-sided  arrangement  that  can  be  of  benefit  to 
either  of  us.  Live  up  to  our  motto,  '  Waste  not,  want 
not/  Fill  your  business  hours  with  work  for  the  busi- 
ness, increasing  the  quantity  of  the  product,  increasing 
the  quality  of  the  product.  Take  care  of  the  machinery 
and  tools,  help  me  to  weed  out  the  chronic  idlers  and 
grumblers  from  this  business.  If  we  come  on  to  years 
when  dividends  cannot  be  paid  you  will  suffer,  but  you 
will  not  be  the  only  sufferer.  Your  Co-Partners  will 
suffer,  and  I  will  suffer  with  you,  and  you  will  have 
learned  what  business  means  and  what  the  risks  of  busi- 
ness are,  a  lesson  that  you  ought  to  learn  just  as  much 
as  myself.  Here  is  the  Co-Partnership.  I  find  you  a 
ladder  to  raise  yourself  to  the  heights  out  of  your  pres- 
ent troubles  and  difficulties.  I  place  it  against  the  wall 
for  you,  but  it  is  out  of  my  power,  or  the  power  of  any 
man,  to  push  another  man  up  the  ladder — man  and  lad- 
der both  fall.  I  offer  you  the  Co-Partnership:  it  is  for 
you  to  make  it  a  success." 


VI 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  BUSINESS  MANAGE- 
MENT 

THERE  is  one  great  principle  governing  the  world, 
which  is  that  of  self-interest.  We  find  nowhere  this 
principle  more  strongly  developed  nor  finding  more  gen- 
eral acceptance  than  in  business.  It  is  the  basis  of  the 
axiom,  "  To  buy  in  the  cheapest  market  and  sell  in  the 
dearest."  It  shows  itself  in  competition,  sometimes 
healthy,  sometimes  unhealthy;  but  there  are  two  kinds  of 
self-interest,  one  the  narrow,  selfish  self-interest,  which 
is  so  short-sighted  as  to  be  blindly  selfish  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  all  other  considerations;  and  there  is  that  broad, 
intelligent,  enlightened  self-interest,  which  says  that  it 
can  only  find  its  own  best  interests  of  self  in  regarding 
the  welfare  and  interests  of  others.  By  the  practice  of 
this  spirit  of  enlightened  self-interest  in  the  struggle 
for  supremacy,  and  the  practice  of  emulation  and  com- 
petition, mankind  is  made  more  and  more  intelligent, 
and  is  better  able  to  obtain  an  advanced  position.  When 
the  spirit  of  enlightened  self-interest  ceases  to  exist, 
mankind  must  of  necessity  fade  out  of  existence  also. 
This  is  just  as  certain  as  it  is  true  that  the  practice  of 
the  narrow,  blind,  selfish  self-interest  can  only  result  in 
the  demoralization  of  society,  and  in  constant  struggle 
and  warfare  and  in  the  decline  of  civilization. 

The  truest  and  best  form  of  enlightened  self-interest  is 
when  we  pay  the  highest  regard  to  those  associated  with 
us  in  business,  and  whose  improved  efficiency  we  must 
seek  to  obtain  by  binding  them  and  making  them,  equally 

85 


86  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

with  ourselves,  interested  in,  and  dependent  upon,  the 
success  of  the  business.  If  Capital  desires  Management 
and  Labour  to  be  efficient,  then  Capital  must  be  fair  in 
its  division  of  profits  with  Management  and  Labour.  If 
Capital  wishes  Management  and  Labour  to  make  profits, 
then  Capital  must  share  profits  with  Management  and 
Labour.  If  Capital  thinks  of  nothing  but  its  own  nar- 
rowest and  most  selfish  self-interest,  without  a  single 
thought  for  Management  and  Labour,  then  Capital  will 
never  succeed  in  getting  the  highest  possible  amount  of 
efficiency  from  Management  and  Labour.  In  fact,  if 
Capital  is  justified  in  taking  the  most  narrow  and  selfish 
view,  then  equally  Management  and  Labour  must  be 
considered  as  entitled  to  consider  how  to  obtain  the 
highest  possible  salaries  and  wages  for  the  least  equiva- 
lent in  skill,  efficiency,  and  labour.  And,  equally,  if 
Management  and  Labour  consider  nothing  but  their  own 
narrowest  and  most  selfish  self-interest,  if  their  thought 
is  solely  how  to  render  the  smallest  possible  amount  of 
work — inefficient  and,  therefore,  profitless — in  the  short- 
est possible  number  of  hours  and  for  the  highest  possible 
salary  or  wages,  then  Management  and  Labour  will  of 
necessity  retrograde  and  suffer;  but  if  Management  and 
Labour  adopt  a  system  of  enlightened  self-interest,  and 
Capital  does  the  same,  and  each  recognize  the  principle 
that  by  looking  after  the  interests  of  all  they  are  taking 
the  surest  way  of  achieving  their  own  individual  self-in- 
terest, then  the  undertaking  must  be  healthier,  profits 
are  bound  to  be  greater,  the  resulting  happiness  will  be 
more  complete,  and  the  prosperity  and  advancement  of 
civilization  the  world  over  will  be  assured. 

It  is  claimed  for  Co-Partnership  that  by  adopting  Co- 
Partnership  a  recognition  is  made  of  this  great  fact,  that 
justice  demands  for  each  of  us  equal  rights  in  the  prod- 
ucts of  our  labour.  This  is  the  very  basis  of  Co-Partner- 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  MANAGEMENT       87 

ship,  and  it  is  claimed  for  it  that  it  stimulates  efficiency 
and  produces  economy  and  avoidance  of  waste,  and  it  is 
only  by  so  doing  that  Co-Partnership  can  increase  well- 
being  and  prosperity  and  justify  its  adoption. 

Before  we  proceed  further,  it  would  probably  be  ad- 
vantageous to  give  a  definition  of  what  is  meant  by 
Profit-Sharing  and  Co-Partnership.  There  are  so  many 
systems  of  Profit-Sharing,  some  amounting  to  little 
other  than  gratuities  or  Christmas-boxes,  that  this  defini- 
tion becomes  all  the  more  important  and  necessary.  In 
the  Board  of  Trade  Report  dealing-  with  Profit-Sharing 
and  Co-Partnership,  Profit-Sharing  was  defined  as  "  An 
agreement  between  an  employer  and  his  workpeople  that 
the  latter  shall  receive  in  addition  to  their  ordinary 
wages  a  share  fixed  beforehand  in  the  profits  of  the 
undertaking."  Under  this  definition  all  bonus  schemes 
are  excluded.  The  Board  of  Trade  Report  stated  that 
there  must  be  a  previous  agreement,  that  the  share  of  the 
profits  must  be  fixed  beforehand,  and  Co-Partnership 
was  defined  as  an  extension  of  Profit-Sharing  whereby 
the  employee  gained,  in  some  degree,  the  rights  and  re- 
sponsibilities of  the  shareholder. 

To  enable  us  to  judge  the  anticipated  effects  of  the 
adoption  of  Co-Partnership,  it  is  not  unreasonable  that 
we  draw  a  parallel  from  what  has  been  the  effect  of  im- 
proving the  condition  of  the  workers  in  those  industries 
that  have  been  able  to  achieve  this.  It  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  every  reduction  in  the  hazardous  nature  of  an 
occupation  has  resulted  in  a  wider  selection  and  better 
workmen  being  available  in  that  occupation.  Businesses 
that  were  dangerous  and  hazardous,  and  that  have  been 
made  safe  and  free  from  risk,  have  become  attractive  to 
a  greater  body  of  workmen,  and,  at  the  same  time,  at- 
tractive to  a  more  intelligent  class  of  workmen.  There 
is  the  human  element — the  man  behind  the  process  and 


88  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

operation — to  be  considered  in  every  undertaking.  The 
only  way  in  which  to  maintain  an  increased  success  in 
any  industry  is  to  maintain  an  increased  efficiency,  and 
thus  by  increased  efficiency  to  increase  the  quantity 
and  quality  of  the  output,  and  so  augment  the  fund  out 
of  which  the  wages  and  profits  have  to  come. 

I  venture  to  state  that  our  modern  industrial  system 
in  this  great  United  Kingdom  stands  self -condemned, 
when  the  income  tax  returns  show  that  it  rests  on  a 
basis  whereby  one-ninth  of  the  population  enjoy  one-half 
the  total  income,  and  more  than  nine-tenths  of  the  ac- 
cumulated wealth,  whilst  the  remaining  eight-ninths  of 
the  population  have  only  one-half  of  the  total  income, 
and  possess  less  than  one-tenth  of  the  accumulated 
wealth.  It  is  true  that  the  one-ninth  have  full  legal 
claim  to  half  the  total  income,  and  the  nine-tenths  of 
the  total  wealth.  Not  one  word  can  be  raised  against  the 
legal  right  upon  which  this  rests,  but  notwithstanding 
these  circumstances  let  us  ask  ourselves,  Is  this  great  dis- 
proportion expedient  and  in  the  interests  of  the  commun- 
ity as  a  whole,  and  the  nation  and  Empire  of  which  we  all 
profess  to  be  so  proud? 

But  hidden  and  buried  amongst  the  above  mass  of 
figures  and  income  tax  returns  are  also  the  unrecorded 
losses  and  failures,  the  despair  and  madness  of  many  a 
so-called  capitalist  who  has  seen  the  ruin  of  his  industry, 
sometimes  from  his  own  errors  and  mistakes,  but,  it  is 
equally  true,  often  from  changed  economic  conditions 
which  render  his  industry  obsolete,  and  have  swept  away 
his  capital  and  profits;  so  that  before  we  join  in  the 
general  outcry  of  rights  of  Labour  to  share  in  the  profits 
we  must  consider  the  proposition  of  Loss-Sharing  as 
well  as  Profit-Sharing.  Whole  volumes  have  been  writ- 
ten, and  eloquent  speeches  have  been  delivered,  on  the 
subject  of  the  rights  of  Labour  to  share  in  the  profits. 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  MANAGEMENT       89 

Men  wax  eloquent  on  these  rights,  but  not  one  single 
line  has  been  written,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  dis- 
cover, to  point  out  that  if  Management  and  Labour 
would  share  in  the  profits,  Management  and  Labour  must 
equally  share  in  the  losses.  It  has  not  even  been  claimed 
that  Labour  should  share  in  the  losses  in  those  quite  nu- 
merous undertakings  where  the  ruin  of  the  undertaking 
has  been  the  direct  result  of  the  action  of  Labour. 
Therefore,  there  is  one  essential  element  of  expediency 
and  justice,  when  we  are  considering  the  application  of 
Profit-Sharing  to  modern  industrial  conditions,  and  that 
is,  that  Loss-Sharing  must  of  necessity  go  with  Profit- 
Sharing,  and  cannot  possibly  be  detached  from  it. 

This  Loss-Sharing  must  be  so  arranged  that  the  em- 
ployee is  not  under  the  necessity  of  sacrificing  the  secur- 
ity of  his  position  with  regard  to  salary  or  wages.  There- 
fore, Profit-Sharing  must  be  in  addition  to,  and  not  in 
substitution  of,  the  salary  and  wages  system.  Profit- 
Sharing  must  mean  the  giving  to  the  employee  the  op- 
portunity each  year  by  increased  efficiency  of  acquiring 
an  enlarging  personal  share  in  the  profits  of  the  business. 
Therefore,  Profit-Sharing  and  Co-Partnership  must  re- 
sult in  increasing  the  volume  of  profits.  Salary  and 
wages  must  first  be  paid  under  the  old  system  to  Manage- 
ment and  Labour,  and  a  reasonable  rate  of  interest,  say, 
5  or  6  per  cent.,  must  be  paid  to  Capital  as  the  equiva- 
lent of  the  salary  and  wages'of  Management  and  Labour. 
The  employee  is  at  present  placed  in  a  position  of  per- 
sonal indifference,  so  far  as  his  own  financial  responsi- 
bility is  concerned,  in  the  success  or  failure  of  the  busi- 
ness. The  employee  sharing  in  the  profits  of  the  busi- 
ness, in  addition  to  receiving  salary  or  wages,  would 
ever  have  in  his  mind  that  the  failure  of  the  business 
would  sweep  away  his  annually  increasing  share  in  the 
profits  of  the  undertaking,  which  share,  equally  as  is  the 


90  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

case  with  the  Capitalist,  has  taken  him  a  lifetime  of 
unremitting  application  and  patient  effort  to  acquire. 
Therefore,  Co-Partnership,  rightly  constituted,  must  of 
necessity  bring  the  employee  into  close  contact  with 
Capital  in  Loss-Sharing  as  well  as  in  Profit-Sharing, 
which  would  lift  both  Management  and  Labour  into  the 
stimulating,  developing,  and  elevating  heights  of  profit- 
earner  and  profit-sharer  in  addition  to  that  of  the  salary 
or  wage-drawer. 

Now,  in  former  times  the  whole  history  of  the  world 
has  been  a  history  of  conflict.  Conflict  has  been  the  rule 
of  life.  It  has  been  the  question  that  has  settled  the  sta- 
bility of  nations ;  conquest  by  war,  and  one  perpetual  con- 
flict. And  we  see  the  modern  survival  of  this  idea  of 
conflict  in  competition.  The  very  antipathy  of  the  public 
to  anything  partaking  of  the  nature  of  monopoly  shows 
that  they  believe  that  war,  or  competition,  is  for  the 
good  of  the  public,  and  probably  for  the  good  of  man- 
kind. And  we  do  know  this — that  competition  does  keep 
us  alert,  and  does  keep  us  strenuous  in  our  business.  It 
is  more  important,  however,  that  we  give  good  service  to 
the  public  than  that  we  waste  our  energies  in  competing 
strenuously  with  each  other.  Any  method  that  we  can 
adopt  in  our  business  that  will  improve  our  efficiency  and 
the  efficiency  of  those  we  employ,  is  a  much  more  im- 
portant matter  for  the  public  than  that  we  should  be  en- 
gaged in  keen  competition  with  each  other.  And  I  say 
also  that,  however  much  the  faddist  may  like  to  see  a 
manufacturer  who  is  also  called  a  philanthropist,  it  is 
even  more  important  for  the  workman  that  his  employer 
should  be  a  strict  business  man  than  that  he  should  be  a 
philanthropist.  Capital  is  all-powerful  to-day,  and  I 
think  that,  carrying  our  minds  back  to  the  time  of  con- 
flict, it  behooves  Capital  to  remember  that  any  conflict 
that  may  come  between  Capital  and  Labour  is  much 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  MANAGEMENT       91 

better  settled  by  an  adjustment  of  rights,  and  a  recogni- 
tion of  the  rights  of  each  side,  than  by  a  continuance  of 
conflict.  The  recognition  of  rights  does  not  mean  that  the 
manufacturer  can  be  a  philanthropist,  because  he  cannot ; 
but  each  day  Labour  is  demanding,  and  rightly  and  prop- 
erly demanding,  a  greater  share  in  the  profits  of  indus- 
try— and  to-morrow,  in  all  probability,  the  positions  may 
be  reversed,  and  as  the  demand  for  labour  increases 
and  money  becomes  more  plentiful,  Capital  may  become 
the  suppliant  for  employment,  and  Labour  may  be  all- 
powerful  and  able  to  dictate  the  terms  on  which  it  is  to 
be  employed.  That  is,  of  course,  an  exact  reversal  of 
the  position  which  we  have  to-day.  Supposing  even  that 
that  came  about,  the  employer  could  not  even  then  be  a 
philanthropist,  and  the  hardest  employer  who  could  pos- 
sibly be  imagined,  who  succeeds  in  keeping  his  people  in 
full  work  at  full  wages,  whatever  that  rate  of  wages  may 
be,  would  be  better,  even  under  those  conditions,  for  the 
workman  himself  than  a  so-called  philanthropist. 

Well,  now,  in  Labour  wars,  of  course,  the  weapon 
which  has  been  used,  and  effectively  used — and  I  think 
rightly  used — has  been  that  of  strikes.  But,  like  all 
methods  of  war — like  all  weapons  of  war — it  is  costly 
and  extravagant,  and  I  believe  it  is  equally  true  in  indus- 
trial warfare  as  in  warfare  between  nations — and  this  has 
been  proved  by  Mr.  Norman  Angell — that  no  practical 
profit  has  ever  come  out  of  war  unless  it  has  been  a  fight 
for  liberty.  And  I  believe  that  in  this  question  of  the 
adjustment  of  wages  there  is  no  question  of  liberty 
involved,  and  that  all  questions  of  this  kind  could  be 
infinitely  better  settled  by  mutual  forbearance  and  con- 
ciliation than  by  any  question  of  strikes.  In  my  opinion, 
all  these  strikes,  and  all  this  unrest  in  the  Labour  world, 
are  a  healthy  sign.  And  it  is  still  more  healthy  that  no 
advantage  at  the  present  moment  has  resulted,  or  can 


92  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

result,  from  this  warfare  that  will  give  either  element  a 
preponderance  over  the  other.  The  tendency  will  be,  as  I 
have  said,  as  money  becomes  more  plentiful,  for  money 
to  be  the  suppliant  for  employment,  and  for  Labour  to 
be  able  to  dictate  more  closely  its  own  terms.  But  even 
then,  extravagant  and  costly  production  would  ruin  in- 
dustries, would  ruin  the  cause  of  Labour,  and  would 
bring  Labour  back  to  a  situation  of  unemployment. 

For  a  number  of  years  past  we  have  seen  various  Acts 
of  Parliament  passed  to  regulate  the  employment  of  la- 
bour. Now,  I  am  not  one  of  those  who  think  that  this 
has  come  about  merely  because  the  workman  has  the 
vote;  I  rather  think  it  is  because  the  community  recog- 
nizes that  the  workman  has  certain  rights,  and  because 
the  regulation  of  labour  in  a  proper  manner  has  been 
recognized  as  being  just  and  fair;  and  the  very  fact  that 
it  has  resulted  in  giving  advantage  to  the  employer  as 
well  as  to  the  workman  proves  that  it  is  founded  on 
sound  lines.  We  have  to  be  regulated.  I  know  there  was 
an  idea  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century  that  each  of  us 
had  liberties  which  we  could  exercise  at  our  own  sweet 
will.  But  it  is  found  that  organized  society  cannot  live 
in  that  way,  and  that  we  have  to  recognize  the  rights  of 
others  as  well  as  our  own  rights.  This  is  no  new  idea,  I 
know,  but  we  are  beginning  to  recognize  more  and  more 
that  in  this  matter  of  the  employment  of  labour  it  is 
right  that  the  State  should  make  certain  regulations,  so 
that  one  manufacturer,  who  is  inclined  to  adopt  proper 
safeguards  of  machinery  and  proper  regulations  of  la- 
bour, shall  not  be  handicapped  in  competition  with  an- 
other manufacturer  who  would  prefer  to  disregard  such 
safeguards  and  regulations.  We  are  all  of  us  the  better 
for  regulation  in  this  direction. 

But  this  again  does  not  take  us  very  far.  It  still 
leaves  us  very  nearly  where  we  were  with  regard  to  the 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  MANAGEMENT       93 

wage  question,  and  the  situation  is  pretty  much  in  this 
respect  left  as  it  was  at  the  beginning  of  last  century. 
Well,  now,  the  question  of  capital  comes  in,  and  may  I 
mention  this,  which  I  am  sure  is  apparent  to  every  one 
of  us — that  the  shareholder  in  the  large  aggregations  of 
capital  that  are  known  to-day,  is  no  longer  a  partner ;  he 
is  merely  an  investor — a  money-lender.  Capital  has  be- 
come dependent  on  Management  and  Labour,  and  this  re- 
sult has  produced  a  condition  where,  if  you  alienate  the 
interest  of  Management  and  alienate  the  interest  of  La- 
bour, so  that  the  whole  of  the  benefits  resulting  from  the 
whole-hearted  service  of  Management  and  Labour  are 
merely  to  go  to  the  financiers,  the  money-lender,  or  the 
investor,  then  you  have  produced  circumstances  in  a  very 
large  number  of  industries  which  did  not  exist  a  decade 
ago — where  you  have  divorced  Management  and  Labour 
from  the  fruits  of  the  industry  owned  by  these  large 
aggregations  of  capital.  That  is  going  on  slowly  and 
gradually.  It  may  be  possible  in  certain  industries,  but 
in  other  industries  such  a  condition  of  affairs  is  entirely 
opposed  to  their  success.  Now  the  conflict  that  has  re- 
sulted from  this  changed  position  is  rather  considerable. 
The  condition  is  now  one  in  which  Management,  as 
such,  is  on  the  side  of,  or  is  in  the  same  position  as,  La- 
bour; and  in  interesting  both  Management  and  Labour 
in  rendering  efficient  service,  I  claim  that  the  best  inter- 
ests of  shareholders,  who  want  a  solid  investment  with 
security,  and  the  best  interests  of  the  consumers,  who 
want  articles  of  uniform  good  quality  at  the  lowest  pos- 
sible cost  of  production,  would  alike  be  realized.  It  is 
not  easy  at  any  time  to  evolve  a  scheme  that  will  realize 
the  possibility  of  interesting  Management  (which  is  not 
a  shareholder)  and  Labour  (which  is  also  not  a  share- 
holder) in  the  products  that  they,  jointly  with  Capital, 
create.  The  result  is  that  very  often  complicated  posi- 


94  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

tions  occur,  and  systems  are  evolved  which  are  more  or 
less  temporary.  The  average  life  of  such  schemes,  as  I 
say,  is  about  five  years.  Now,  there  must  be  a  reason 
for  this,  and  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  the  reason  is 
the  one  which  I  have  already  mentioned,  namely,  the 
attempt  to  mix  things  that  differ.  As  I  stated  before,  the 
employer  who  shares  his  profits  with  his  workpeople  is 
not  entitled  on  that  account  to  receive  his  workmen's 
labour  for  less  than  the  current  rate.  Some  of  the  Prof- 
it-Sharing schemes  have  fallen  to  the  ground  because, 
after  sharing  in  the  profits  for  a  number  of  years,  the 
workmen  have  struck  against  a  reduction  of  wages  when 
no  profits  were  accruing,  or  have  struck  for  an  advance 
of  wages  when  an  advance  has  been  given  in  other  indus- 
tries, with  the  result  that  the  Management  has  said, 
"  Well,  of  course,  if  you  won't  take  bad  times  with  good, 
if  you  are  only  going  to  take  your  share  of  the  profits 
when  these  accrue,  and  leave  us  to  bear  all  the  losses, 
we  will  withdraw  the  Profit-Sharing  arrangement  alto- 
gether." Now,  it  seems  to  me  that  that  is  an  unreason- 
able position  to  place  Labour  in.  Labour  must  have  its 
fixed  rate  of  wages,  which  in  turn  must  be  the  Trade 
Union  rate  of  wages,  or  the  current  rate  of  wages  in 
trades  where  there  is  no  union.  Labour  must  have  that 
rate  of  wages  assured  to  it,  and  if  the  employer,  in  pros- 
perous years,  shares  profits  with  his  workpeople,  he  has 
a  right  to  expect  that  whilst  he  is  not  interfering  with 
the  rate  of  wages,  he  is,  by  adopting  that  system,  in- 
creasing the  personal  interest  of  his  staff  in  their  work, 
and  that  the  staff  themselves  will  make  the  surplus 
profits  which  they  themselves  are  going  to  share.  And 
on  that  basis,  and  only  on  that  basis,  does  it  seem  to  me 
to  be  possible  to' introduce  a  system  of  sharing  profits  with 
employees.  Because,  if  it  is  going  to  be  a  system  merely 
of  taking  the  profits  made  by  the  employer  and  dividing 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  MANAGEMENT       95 

a  share  of  those  among  the  employees,  then  it  is  philan- 
thropy, which  is  not  required,  and  for  which  there  is  no 
place  in  business;  and  in  a  very  small  number  of  years 
an  employer  adopting  that  course  would  inevitably  find 
himself  handicapped  by  competitors  who,  instead  of 
dealing  with  surplus  profits  in  that  way,  carried  them  to 
a  reserve  fund  and  left  them  to  fructify  in  the  business. 
And  in  that  way  the  profit-sharing  philanthropist  would 
find  himself  suffering  a  very  serious  handicap.  If  the 
workman,  on  the  other  hand,  felt  that  he  was  not  as- 
sured of  his  full  rate  of  wages,  the  same  as  he  would 
receive  in  any  other  workshop,  he  would  naturally  feel 
aggrieved,  because  it  is  a  matter  of  life  and  death  to  him, 
with  his  family  to  maintain,  that  he  should  have  his  full 
rate  of  wages,  and  he  cannot  do  without  that  full  rate  of 
wages. 

Now  I  will  tell  you,  if  you  will  allow  me,  something 
of  my  own  little  personal  experience.  I  have  en- 
deavoured to  indicate  to  you  the  difficulties  of  the  case, 
which  are  very  real,  and  now  I  would  like  to  tell  you  of 
the  various  means  which  I  have  adopted,  during  the  last 
five-and-twenty  years,  to  produce  this  personal  interest 
of  which  I  have  been  speaking,  and  of  what  has  brought 
me  to  my  present  system. 

The  first  and  obvious  course  for  a  man  to  take  is  to 
allow  those  associated  with  him  in  his  business  to  acquire 
some  of  the  ordinary  capital.  It  has  been  done  very 
largely  in  a  great  many  industries.  Well,  I  tried  that, 
and  I  invariably  found  that  as  a  result  of  that,  the  hold- 
ing of  these  shares  produced  a  state  of  mind  which  was 
nervous,  to  say  the  least  of  it.  So  that  if  a  new  de- 
velopment was  contemplated — for  instance,  the  opening 
of  works  in  Australia  or  in  some  other  part  of  the  world 
— then  the  holders  of  a  small  number  of  the  ordinary 
shares  were  inclined  to  consider  that  the  position  of  these 


96  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

ordinary  shares  was  going  to  be  jeopardized,  and  that 
the  opening  of  those  works  was  going  to  be  risky,  more 
or  less,  and  that  the  risk  ought  not  to  be  taken.  And  in 
many  cases  the  argument  was  used,  "  We  are  doing  well, 
and  why  should  not  we  be  satisfied  with  going  on  as  we 
are?"  Well,  of  course,  the  number  of  ordinary  shares 
held  in  this  way,  as  compared  with  those  held  by  myself, 
was  not  of  sufficient  moment  to  be  powerful  enough  to 
alter  the  policy — if  it  had  been,  I  think  it  would  have 
been  fatal  to  our  progress — and  the  result  that  generally 
came  about  was  that  I  had  to  buy  back  myself,  at  a 
premium,  shares  which  I  had  either  given  for  no  pay- 
ment at  all  or  had  issued  at  par.  I  never  got  them  back 
at  par  in  any  single  case ;  I  always  had  to  buy  them  back 
at  a  premium.  Invariably,  as  I  say,  there  was  a  state  of 
nervousness  created  in  the  minds  of  those  who  held 
these  shares.  They  might  be  worth  £40,000,  £50,000, 
or  £60,000  if  realized  at  a  particular  time,  and  when 
there  was  any  question  of  a  new  departure,  such  as  the 
establishment  of  a  new  undertaking,  the  holders  of  these 
shares  felt  that  they  did  not  know  where  they  were  go- 
ing to  be  landed,  or  how  their  value  was  going  to  affected. 
This  is  the  natural  attitude  of  the  small  shareholder,  and 
I  respect  it.  I  do  not  think  I  have  any  right  to  say  that 
he  ought  not  to  take  that  view.  A  man  who  finds  that 
if  he  goes  out  of  the  business  at  a  certain  moment  he  will 
go  out  without  the  necessity  of  any  worry  as  regards 
the  future  will  naturally  hesitate  to  go  into  a  new  branch 
of  the  enterprise  and  face  unknown  risks  of  which  he 
does  not,  and  in  the  nature  of  things  cannot,  foresee  the 
finality.  Therefore,  as  I  say,  the  only  result  I  got  from 
letting  these  ordinary  shares  go  was  that  I  had  invariably 
to  buy  them  back  at  a  premium,  and  generally  before  five 
years  had  passed.  So  that,  after  having  a  strong  desire 
to  get  rid  of  my  ordinary  shares  to  those  who  worked 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  MANAGEMENT       97 

with  me,  I  ultimately  found  myself,  until  two  years  ago, 
the  holder  of  all  the  ordinary  shares.  I  should  mention 
that  then  I  let  my  son  have  some  of  them,  but  he,  of 
course,  is  on  a  somewhat  different  footing,  and  I  sup- 
pose that  in  all  human  probability  he  will  have  the  lot  at 
some  time  or  other.  But  leaving  his  shares  out  of  the 
question,  all  the  others  came  back  to  me  in  the  way  I 
have  described. 

Now,  I  had  to  give  that  idea  up.  It  was  leading  me 
nowhere.  It  was  costing  me  a  great  many  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  pounds,  so  I  had  to  give  it  up.  Next  I 
thought  I  would  try  my  hand  at  the  creation  of  some 
preference  shares,  the  dividend  on  which  would  be  re- 
stricted to  5  per  cent.  My  idea  was  to  allow  these  to 
be  applied  for,  and  when  the  applicants  obtained  them, 
they  would  receive  the  same  rate  of  dividend  as  the  ordi- 
nary shares,  the  difference  being  ex  gratia.  Now,  I 
consulted  our  solicitor,  and  he  pointed  out  to  me  that 
that  scheme  had  already  been  tried  and  had  failed.  So 
I  was  saved  from  that  particular  pitfall.  He  said  he 
knew  several  firms  who  had  tried  the  scheme,  and  that 
the  result  had  been  that  the  employees  had  been  able  to 
borrow  money,  say,  at  5  per  cent,  on  the  security  of  the 
shares  themselves,  and  if  they  were  paying,  say,  15  per 
cent.,  the  borrower  drew  10  per  cent,  and  the  lender  took 
the  other  5  per  cent.  So  that  the  employee  could  always 
get  money  on  these  shares,  which  he  looked  upon  as  a 
mere  monetary  transaction,  quite  apart  from  his  own 
occupation.  Therefore  I  never  adopted  that  plan. 

Still  I  was  not  satisfied,  because  in  a  business  such  as 
ours,  with  over  fifty  branches  scattered  all  over  the 
world,  you  must  have  the  personal  interest  of  your  staff. 
You  cannot  ignore  it.  It  is  a  thing  which  you  must  get. 
And  then  I  thought  that  perhaps  by  issuing  what  I  call 
certificates — certificates  representing  no  money  at  all,  and 


98  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

which  could  not  be  negotiated — I  might  solve  the  prob- 
lem. I  thought  I  would  pay  on  these  certificates  the 
same  rate  of  dividend  as  on  the  ordinary  shares,  less,  say, 
5  per  cent.,  which  would  represent  interest  on  the  money 
if  money  had  been  paid  for  them  in  the  same  way  as  in 
the  ordinary  course  it  would  be  paid  for  ordinary  shares. 
So  I  started  the  system  of  issuing  these  certificates,  such 
certificates  receiving  5  per  cent,  less  than  the  ordinary 
shares.  As  you  know,  there  are  many  profit-earning 
schemes  (I  do  not  need  to  mention  names)  where  the 
endeavour  is  made  to  guarantee  the  workman  4^,  or  4, 
or  5  per  cent,  on  whatever  money  he  puts  in,  and  then, 
after  that,  sharing  the  profits  with  him.  Well,  I  saved 
all  that  guarantee  by  dispensing  with  his  putting  in  any 
money  at  all,  and  merely  calling  these  things  certificates, 
representing,  as  I  say,  no  money  at  all,  though  to  the 
holder  they  represent  dividends  of  the  same  value  as  the 
ordinary  shares  receive,  minus  5  per  cent.  I  created 
this  scheme,  and  finally,  after  a  great  many  years'  work, 
got  it  into  shape,  I  think,  some  four  years  ago.  We 
created  at  that  time  £500,000  nominal  value  of  these 
certificates,  and  this  year  we  propose  to  create  a  further 
£500,000,  raising  the  amount  of  these  certificates  to 
£  1,000,000  nominal  value.  Then  I  began  with  the  rank 
and  file.  I  gave  these  certificates  to  all  what  I  may  call 
rank-and-file  workers,  to  the  extent  of  10  per  cent,  of 
their  wages.  If  any  report  came  in  with  regard  to  any 
man  having  committed  an  act  of  insubordination,  any 
neglect  of  duty,  or  any  of  the  minor  offences,  he  forfeited 
any  allotment  he  would  otherwise  have  received  during 
that  year.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  an  excellent  report  came 
in  concerning  any  man,  he  received  more  than  10  per 
cent. ;  and  if  any  man  rendered  the  Company  exceptional 
service,  he  received  still  more,  perhaps  many  times  10 
per  cent.  So  that  there  was  always  elasticity,  and  the 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  MANAGEMENT       99 

whole  scheme  was  founded  perfectly  legally  by  the  share- 
holders, the  only  shareholder  who  was  required  to  vote 
being  the  ordinary  shareholder.  The  scheme  is  upon 
the  basis  that  the  majority  of  the  ordinary  shareholders 
shall  have  the  right  to  decide  how  many  of  these  certifi- 
cates are  to  be  issued.  So  that  the  matter  is  entirely  in 
the  hands  of  the  majority  of  the  ordinary  shareholders 
for  the  time  being.  Well,  we  worked  on  this  footing  and 
we  created  a  savings  bank,  and  the  dividends,  as  they 
accrued,  were  credited  to  each  man's  account.  If  he 
chose,  he  could  go  to  the  savings  bank  the  same  day 
that  his  account  was  credited  and  draw  the  money  then 
and  there — the  whole  of  it,  if  he  pleased.  If  he  left  the 
money  in  the  bank  for  three  months,  he  received  interest 
on  it  at  the  rate  of,  say,  3  per  cent. ;  if  he  left  it  six 
months,  he  received  interest  at  the  rate  of,  say,  4  per 
cent. ;  and  if  he  left  it  twelve  months,  he  received  interest 
at  the  rate  of,  say,  5  per  cent.  He  could  draw  the  money 
out  at  any  time,  and  the  interest  was  made  up  in  accord- 
ance with  the  time  the  money  had  been  deposited  in  the 
bank.  So  that  if  he  left  his  money  in  the  savings  bank 
twelve  months  or  longer,  he  got,  say,  5  per  cent. ;  if  less 
than  twelve  months  and  over  six  months,  say,  4  per  cent. ; 
between  three  months  and  six  months,  say,  3  per  cent; 
and  if  drawn  out  under  three  months  there  would  be  no 
interest. 

Well,  I  found  that  a  great  many  of  the  workmen 
drew  their  money  out  to  buy  our  Preference  shares. 
That  was  reported  to  me,  and  I  found  that  they  had  to 
buy  our  Preference  shares  at  a  premium.  Then  I  saw 
what  seemed  to  me  a  solution  of  one  of  the  schemes 
which  I  had  discussed  with  our  solicitor,  namely,  the 
creation  of  5  per  cent.  Preferred  Ordinary  shares,  the 
acquisition  of  which  should  not  entail  or  permit  of  the 
men  borrowing  any  money  at  all;  and  I  created  these  5 


100  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

per  cent.  Preferred  Ordinary  shares,  which  rank  imme- 
diately before  the  ordinary  shares,  and  after  all  other 
classes  of  shares.  If  the  man  chooses  to  retain  these 
shares,  he  does  so.  If  he  wishes  to  realize  on  them,  he 
can  walk  into  the  savings  bank  at  any  time,  and  there  is 
a  market  for  them  at  par.  So  that  although  he  draws 
what  he  may  be  entitled  to  in  the  shape  of  shares,  he  can 
change  them  into  money  just  as  readily  as  he  could  ob- 
tain the  money  originally  when  it  was  credited  in  his 
bank-book;  while  if  he  prefers  to  hold  the  shares,  he 
receives  the  same  dividends  as  are  paid  on  the  ordinary 
shares.  Now,  this  has  overcome  the  difficulty  of  the 
man  applying  for  shares  out  of  all  proportion  to  his 
available  money.  Practically  the  money  for  these  shares 
is  found  out  of  the  dividends  he  receives  on  his  certifi- 
cates, and  the  certificates,  in  turn,  represent  no  cash 
value  at  all.  So  that  now  I  have  a  medium  through 
which  the  man  can  come  into  the  ordinary  shareholder 
class  by  saving  all  his  dividends  on  his  certificates.  I 
have  only  had  this  in  operation  for  twelve  months,  and  it 
is  too  early  yet  to  say  any  more  than  that  I  have  started 
it.  But  you  will  see  that  my  effort  has  been  to  interest  a 
large  number  of  people,  by  a  convenient  method,  in  the 
profits  of  the  business,  and  to  do  it  in  such  a  way  that  a 
man  could  have  no  fear  about  his  capital.  I  have  thus 
overcome  that  original  fear  that  a  man  had,  that  if  we 
took  over  some  fresh  undertaking  his  ordinary  dividends 
would  be  at  stake,  because  these  depend  on  the  certifi- 
cates, which  certificates  he  has  not  paid  for,  and  which 
certificates,  not  having  been  paid  for,  he  is  very  anxious 
should  receive  as  high  a  rate  of  dividend  as  possible,  be- 
cause this  is  their  only  value  to  him,  and  he  not  having  put 
any  money  in  them,  and  the  certificates  representing,  as 
they  do,  a  perfectly  unsaleable  commodity,  he  cannot 
sell  them  at  a  premium  at  all.  He  therefore  takes  a 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  MANAGEMENT     101 

different  view  with  regard  to  the  progress  and  develop- 
ment of  the  Company;  he  becomes  anxious  that  the  busi- 
ness should  progress  and  develop,  because  it  is  only  by 
such  progress  and  development  that  he  is  able  to  obtain 
dividends  on  his  certificates,  which  dividends,  in  their 
turn,  he  can  invest,  if  he  likes,  in  Preferred  Ordinary 
shares.  If  a  man  dies>  or  if  he  retires  from  the  business, 
the  shares  then  revert  to  merely  5  per  cent.  Preferred  Or- 
dinary shares,  which  is  the  only  right  conferred  on  them 
by  the  Articles  of  Association.  The  additional  rights 
are  equally  binding  so  long  as  the  holder  remains  with 
our  firm — we  have  altered  the  Articles  of  Association  ac- 
cordingly— but  what  we  have  undertaken  is  merely  to  pay 
him  the  same  rate  of  dividend  as  is  received  by  the  ordi- 
nary shares  during  the  time  he  is  actively  engaged  in 
the  business.  And  in  this  way  we  hope  that  we  have 
solved  the  problem  of  interesting  our  staff  in  the 
profits  of  the  business  and  in  the  losses  of  the 
business. 

But  I  want  to  impress  upon  every  one  present  that  no 
Profit-Sharing  scheme  will  be  of  any  use  if  the  man  is 
not  made  to  feel  that  he  is  interested  in  the  losses  just  as 
much  as  in  the  profits  of  the  business.  A  Profit-Sharing 
scheme  which  merely  mentions  profits,  and  takes  no  ac- 
count of  possible  losses,  tells  only  half  the  commercial 
tale.  We  all  of  us  here  know — it  is  unnecessary  to  men- 
tion it  in  such  a  gathering  as  this — that  any  business  may 
have  profits,  and  it  may  have  losses  and  every  one  of  us 
who  has  put  his  money,  time,  and  energy  into  any  busi- 
ness must  necessarily  be  prepared  to  face  either.  And  it 
is  the  fact  that  we  realize  that  there  may  be  losses  which 
makes  us,  in  all  probability,  so  alert  in  guarding  our  in- 
terests, and  safeguarding  them,  and  endeavouring  to  en- 
sure, by  the  stability  of  the  business,  that  the  capital 
embarked  in  it  shall  be  perfectly  safe. 


102  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

Now,  therefore,  by  means  of  these  certificates,  a  man 
may  have  accumulated,  as  several  in  fact  have,  some 
thousands  of  pounds.  If  there  is  no  dividend  for  the 
ordinary  shareholder,  or  if  there  is  only  5  per  cent,  for 
the  ordinary  shareholder,  he  knows  that  there  is  nothing 
for  him,  and  he  knows,  when  he  goes  upstairs  and  looks 
into  the  drawer  where  he  keeps  his  certificates,  that  it  is 
only  during  his  lifetime,  and  during  the  lifetime  of  the 
profit-earning  capacity  of  the  business,  that  they  are 
worth  any  more  than  the  paper  they  are  printed  on ;  and 
he  knows  that  directly  the  business  ceases  to  be  profit- 
able, the  value  of  these  certificates  will  have  disappeared, 
since  they  are  only  entitled  to  receive  dividends  when 
such  dividends  have  been  earned.  Now,  I  have  endeav- 
oured in  this  way  to  give  him  an  interest  without  mixing 
things  which  differ.  I  have  recognized  the  fact  that 
whether  the  man  concerned  be  the  highest  manager  I 
have  got,  or  whether  he  be  the  youngest  worker  in  the 
factory  or  office,  his  wages  must  be  proportionate  to  his 
services;  that  those  wages  must  be  at  the  fullest  rate 
which  he  could  get  in  any  other  establishment  for  those 
services;  and  that  anything  done  by  him  beyond  that 
must  be  done  in  the  spirit  of  Co-Partner  ship,  in-  which 
spirit  he  himself,  with  me  and  with  all  the  others  en- 
gaged in  the  business,  endeavours  to  earn  the  profits 
which  are  to  be  shared  by  all  of  us;  and  if  we  cannot 
enter  into  the  spirit  of  Co-Partnership,  if  we  feel  that 
these  profits  will  either  jump  from  the  ground  or  fall 
from  the  heavens  without  any  exertion  of  ours,  we  know 
perfectly  well  we  are  all  on  one  platform — we  are  all  in 
the  same  boat,  if  I  may  use  the  expression — and  that 
none  of  us  will  receive  any  dividends.  I  have  had  to 
link  together  similar  conditions  to  what  every  investor 
feels,  and  every  capitalist  feels,  with  regard  to  his  in- 
vestments— I  have  had  to  endeavour  to  link  those  condi- 


I 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  MANAGEMENT     103 

tions  together  in  giving  these  certificates  to  our  work- 
people ;  and  I  want  to  tell  you  that  as  far  as  I  know,  the 
workman  does  realize  this.  But  there  are  critics  of  the 
scheme,  opponents  of  the  scheme,  who  have  the  idea  that 
the  profits  of  a  business  are  made,  in  some  way  or  other, 
by  the  workmen,  and  by  the  workmen  alone.  I  have  had 
to  meet  that  attitude,  and  if  I  may  digress  for  a  few 
moments  I  will  tell  you  how  I  met  it.  The  people  who 
take  that  view  have  urged  as  a  criticism  of  my  scheme 
that  the  workmen  themselves  have  to  make  all  the  profits 
of  which  they  only  take  a  share.  On  the  other  hand,  they 
don't  want  philanthropy — in  which  I  quite  agree.  I 
would  not  do  anything  with  regard  to  our  workmen  that 
savoured  of  philanthropy  in  the  slightest  degree.  But  if 
profits  are  to  be  made,  I  am  not  going  to  make  surplus 
profits  for  our  staff  to  divide  amongst  themselves,  and 
equally,  I  am  not  going  to  ask  them  to  make  surplus 
profits  for  me.  I  say,  let  us  each  in  our  own  different 
positions  jointly  make  the  profits,  and  after  they  have 
received  their  wages,  and  after  I  have  received  5  per 
cent. — which  is  the  equivalent — then  for  any  services 
beyond  that,  if  there  is  any  surplus,  let  us  share  it  in  a 
perfectly  reasonable  way. 

Now  I  will  make  a  digression,  as  I  said,  and  try  and 
tell  you  how  I  have  met  these  criticisms  of  those  who 
have  attacked  me,  namely,  Socialists,  some  of  whom 
were  my  own  workmen.  I  thought  the  best  way  would 
be  to  give  them  a  paper,  so  I  gave  a  paper  at  Port  Sun- 
light, which  I  called  Day-Work  or  Piece-Work — 
Which?  Well,  it  attracted  a  great  audience,  because 
some  of  the  men  thought  there  was  going  to  be  a  system 
of  piece-work  all  through  the  works.  But  I  have  always 
looked  upon  day-work  as  representing  Socialism  and 
upon  piece-work  as  representing  Individualism,  and  I 
have  never  seen  any  other  interpretation  of  the  two 


104  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

things.  Now,  this  paper  of  mine  created  some  little  com- 
motion, and  my  audience  did  not  feel  quite  ready  to 
criticize  it  on  the  same  evening  that  it  was  presented  to 
them.  So  I  said,  "  All  right ;  let  us  meet  again  and  dis- 
cuss this  paper."  Well,  first  one  man  got  up  and  said 
he  did  not  see  but  what  the  workmen  made  all  the 
profits ;  and  another  man  made  the  same  claim,  and  said 
that  if  there  was  to  be  any  Profit-Sharing  scheme  which 
pretended  to  give  the  workman  what  he  earned,  he  ought 
to  have  it  all.  When  I  came  to  reply,  I  said,  "  I  sup- 
pose I  am  talking  to  a  number  of  sensible  men,  but  ac- 
cording to  what  you  have  said  just  now,  you  seem  to  me 
very  foolish  indeed.  Because  you  are  saying  that  you 
make  the  profits  of  this  business.  Now,  you  certainly 
know  a  great  many  soap  businesses  which  are  not  mak- 
ing any  profits  at  all.  Why  not  go,  as  a  body,  to  these  men 
who  are  making  no  profits  on  their  soap,  and  say,  *  Look 
here;  we  work  for  that  scallywag  Lever;  he  pays  us 
the  full  rate  of  wages,  it  is  true,  and  he  gives  us  some 
share  of  the  profits;  but  he  does  not  give  us  enough. 
How  much  will  you  give  us? '  And  I  told  them,  "  If 
you  go  in  that  way  to  these  other  people  in  the  soap  trade 
who  are  not  making  dividends,  the  very  first  thing  they 
will  say  to  you  will  be,  '  What  do  you  want  ?  '  Because 
whatever  they  get  out  of  you  will  be  to  the  good,  inas- 
much as  they  are  making  nothing  now,  and  however 
little,  or  however  much,  you  let  them  have  will  be  to  the 
good.  You  may  tell  them  you  want  it  all.  Well,  per- 
haps they  will  not  listen  to  that.  Well,  then  you  can 
say,  '  We  want  nine-tenths,  and  you  can  have  one-tenth  ' ; 
and,  seeing  that  they  are  getting  nothing  now,  they  will 
no  doubt  take  it.  And  then  you  can  all  leave  me,  giving 
me  the  usual  week's  notice,  and  go  to  the  other  man  in 
the  same  trade,  and  put  the  case  to  him :  '  This  scallywag 
Lever  only  gives  us  a  share;  you  give  us  a  bigger  one/ 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  MANAGEMENT     105 

Now  go  and  try  it!  "  Well,  of  course  they  were  looking 
at  each  other,  and  had  no  answer.  They  had  never  seen 
<it  in  that  light  before.  I  am  perfectly  certain  these  peo- 
ple are  sincere  and  I  am  perfectly  certain  their  leaders 
are  sincere.  I  have  never  seen  any  reason  to  doubt  their 
sincerity,  and  I  have  come  into  very  close  and  frequent 
personal  contact  with  them.  But  they  have  been  so  fed 
up  on  the  idea  that  when  a  man  has  done  something  with 
his  hands  he  has  produced  something  that  is  of  value, 
that  they  cannot  see  the  other  side  of  the  question.  We, 
who  have  to  sell  that  article,  know  that  although  it  may 
have  been  of  value  yesterday,  and  may  be  of  value  to- 
day, yet  next  week,  or  at  any  particular  moment,  the 
market  conditions  may  be  different,  and  it  may  not  have 
any  value  at  all ;  in  fact,  there  may  be  a  loss  on  its  very 
production.  Now,  the,  men  I  refer  to  cannot  realize 
that.  You  know  the  tale  of  the  Socialist  who  came  into 
a  village  and  began  to  talk  about  the  land  question.  He 
said  the  land  ought  to  be  divided  up,  and  nobody  ought 
to  pay  for  it.  His  views  were  very  popular  among  the 
villagers,  and  they  all  adjourned  to  the  village  "  pub  " 
to  talk  the  matter  over;  and  they  began  dividing  up  the 
land  of  the  village  among  themselves.  One  man  said  he 
would  have  this  field,  another  that.  And  one  man  said 
he  would  have  a  certain  field  of  the  squire's,  "  because 
it  was  best  for  growin'  'taties  in."  When  they  had  di- 
vided it  all  up,  they  had  time  to  notice  a  quiet  old  codger 
who  had  been  sitting  in  a  corner  all  the  time,  smoking, 
and  taking  no  part  in  the  talk.  So  one  of  the  other  men, 
the  one  who  had  chosen  the  potato  field,  said  to  him, 
"  Tom,  why  don't  you  speak  up,  lad  ?  Didn't  tha'  goa 
to  t'  lecture?"  "Ay."  "An'  dostna  believe  in't?" 
"  Oh  yes,  A'  b'lieve  in't."  "  Then  why  dost  tha'  not 
speak  oop  for  thy  share?  "  "  Oh,"  said  the  old  fellow, 
"  A'm  not  goin'  t'  work  ma  Socialism  that  road."  "  How 


106  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

then?"  "Dick,"  said  he,  "didstna  say  tha'd  ha'  that 
field  o'  t'  squire's  'cos  it  growed  t'  best  'taties?  "  "  Ah." 
"And  didn't  tha  say  tha'd  pay  t'  squire  nowt  fur  it?  " 
"  Ah."  "  Weel,  I'll  come  and  gather  t'  'taties  and  pay 
thee  nowt  for  'em." 

There  is  a  necessity  upon  each  of  us,  in  my  opinion,  to 
recognize  the  changes  of  the  times,  the  changes  in  the 
aspirations  of  those  who  work  for  us.  It  is  not  only  a 
question  to-day,  believe  me,  gentlemen,  of  the  increased 
cost  of  living,  although  that  is  great,  but  it  is  the  cost  of 
higher  living.  The  workman  wants  to  live  better,  and 
in  order  to  live  better  he  wants  to  live  in  a  better  house, 
he  wants  his  wife  and  children  to  be  better  fed  and 
clothed.  And  these  are  things  that  he  ought  to  have.  So 
that  there  are  two  factors  in  operation.  The  same  living 
that  a  man  was  content  with  ten  years  ago  is  dearer  to- 
day. But  he  is  not  content  with  having  the  same  living 
as  he  had  ten  years  ago;  he  wants  better  living,  and 
rightly  wants  better  living.  And  the  increased  cost  of 
the  same  living,  coupled  with  the  desire  for  better  living, 
is  producing  an  unrest  which  in  my  view  is  the  most 
healthy  sign  we  have  got.  Now,  it  is  a  question  whether 
we  can,  in  ordinary  competition,  go  beyond  a  certain 
amount  with  safety.  In  a  business  in  which  there  are 
debentures,  we  are  all  agreed  that  you  can  have  deben- 
tures with  perfect  safety  up  to  a  certain  point.  Beyond 
that  point  you  must  have  ordinary  shareholders  who 
have  taken  the  risks  of  the  business.  And  is  it  not  so  in 
regard  to  labour — that  we  can  advance  wages  up  to  a 
certain  point  in  competition  with  the  whole  world — 
advance  them  to  a  point  a  little  higher  than  the  whole 
world  ?  Because  I  believe  that  we  have  the  best  available 
raw  material  of  labour  in  this  country.  I  do  not  believe 
that  there  is  any  labour  material  anywhere  in  the  world 
superior  to  what  we  have  in  England,  Scotland,  Ireland, 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  MANAGEMENT     107 

and  Wales — in  the  United  Kingdom.  But  if  we  are  to 
make  the  enormous  strides  such  as  are  demanded  to-day, 
in  my  opinion  it  can  only  be  done  by  increasing  the  in- 
terest of  the  workman  in  the  article  he  is  producing,  and 
so  making  him  a  more  efficient  instrument  of  production 
by  a  personal  element  being  introduced — that  personal 
element  which  is  the  great  stimulus  behind  each  of  us  in 
this  room  to-day.  We  have  got  to  share  that  stimulus 
with  our  workpeople,  and  if  we  do  this,  I  believe  the 
profits  to  be  divided  will  be  greater,  and  that  everybody's 
share,  including  the  workman's,  will  be  greater.  And 
side  by  side  with  the  sharing  of  these  greater  profits, 
these  increasing  profits,  there  will  go  on  at  the  same  time 
a  reduction  of  anxiety  to  us  as  managers.  The  anxiety 
of  Management  is  greater  with  a  number  of  wage- 
drawers  than  it  is  with  partners.  Many  of  us  in  busi- 
ness are  working  with  partners,  whom  we  have  selected 
with  care.  Sometimes  we  have  been  unfortunate,  but 
you  will  recognize  with  me,  I  am  sure,  that  ninety-nine 
times  out  of  every  hundred  the  partners  work  together 
in  harmony  for  the  good  of  the  business  in  an  entirely 
different  way  from  what  they  would  if  they  were  wage- 
drawers  merely.  We  want  to  produce  that  state  of  af- 
fairs right  throughout  our  industries  in  order  to  get  the 
greatest  efficiency  in  our  workmen,  by  giving  them  a 
personal  interest  in  the  article  which  they  are  producing. 
But  in  doing  this — here  I  want  to  sound  one  warning 
note — there  is  to  be  no  delegation  of  supreme  authority 
from  the  Management;  and  in  my  opinion  all  attempts 
that  would  mean  the  introduction  of  working  men  upon 
Boards  of  Directors,  unless  coupled  with  giving  them 
a  training  in  the  higher  branches  of  work,  will  be  futile. 
It  is  utterly  impossible  to  take  an  ordinary  rank-and-file 
worker  and  make  a  Director  out  of  him.  It  is  not  rea- 
sonable to  expect  to  be  able  to  do  so.  He  has  to  be 


108  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

trained,  as  all  of  us  have  had  to  be  trained,  for  the  po- 
sition; and  to  expect  that  a  man  can  be  selected  out  of 
the  works  by  his  mates  to  sit  straightway  on  a  Board  of 
Directors  is,  in  my  opinion,  an  utterly  futile  expectation. 
It  may  be  that  one  man  can  sit  with  six  or  seven  other 
men,  and,  not  having  the  supreme  power  of  voting,  may 
be  of  assistance  to  the  Board  of  Directors  (who  have  the 
supreme  management)  from  time  to  time.  But  the  su- 
preme management  must  always  be  in  the  hands  of 
trained  men — men  trained  for  their  posts ;  and  the  train- 
ing which  I  am  suggesting  should  go  right  through  the 
staff  is  a  training  by  means  of  which  we  can  gradually 
develop  their  powers,  through  committees,  to  qualify 
them  ultimately  for  a  seat  on  the  Board  of  Directors. 

Now,  having  said  this,  I  want  to  tell  you  that  all  our 
Directors  have  graduated  as  Directors  through  the  works, 
the  office,  or  the  salesmen's  department;  but  in  addition 
to  this  I  have  always  taken  such  a  man  through  the 
committees  I  have  mentioned  before  finally  making  him 
a  Director.  As  I  have  already  said,  I  consider  that  the 
idea  of  a  workman  being  appointed  by  his  fellow-work- 
men to  sit  on  a  Board  of  Directors  is  futile.  I  do  not 
think  I  need  labour  the  idea,  in  such  a  company  as  the 
present,  that  real  Co-Partnership  means  not  only  shar- 
ing in  the  profits,  but  also  sharing  in  certain  duties  which 
a  mere  workman  could  not  possibly  properly  understand. 
I  might  just  as  well  say  that  I  would  go  over  to  the  pan 
side,  where  I  should  no  doubt  only  succeed  in  making 
much  worse  soap  than  would  be  made  by  some  of  my 
lowest-waged  workmen.  On  the  other  hand,  a  workman 
might  come  to  the  Board  of  Directors  and  might  con- 
ceivably make  more  mistakes  than  even  I  do.  But  be- 
cause I  say  that,  it  does  not  mean  that  we  cannot  work 
towards  wider  and  wider  improvements  in  our  service, 
with  the  goal  always  before  us  that  the  profits  to  be 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  MANAGEMENT     109 

divided  will  be  divided  equally  in  proportion  to  the 
amount  of  interest  we  take  in  the  business  and  in  propor- 
tion to  the  services  we  are  capable  of  rendering. 


THE  CO-PARTNERSHIP  SYSTEM   TRUST  IN 
LEVER  BROTHERS  LIMITED 

FOUNDER — LORD  LEVERHULME 

Lever  Brothers  Limited  began  in  1909  to  give  workers 
a  share  in  the  profits. 

Power  was  at  first  taken  to  issue  Partnership  Certificates 
up  to  £500,000  nominal  value,  and  this  was  afterwards  in- 
creased to  £1,000,000. 

These  Certificates  are  issued  to  employees  in  proportion 
to  wages  or  salary  each  year.  The  Management  provision- 
ally allot  Certificates  to  the  Staff,  but  Co-Partners  have 
the  right  of  appeal  to  a  Committee  composed  jointly  of 
Staff  and  Managers.  The  system  of  allotment  is  based  on 
value  of  service.  The  very  slacker  and  ne'er-do-weel  re- 
ceives nil,  the  apathetic  from  5  per  cent,  to  10  per  cent.,  and 
the  enthusiastic,  appreciative,  and  responsive  above  10  per 
cent.,  with  special  allotment  for  special  services  and  helpful 
suggestions. 

The  final  appeal  can  be  made  to  the  Chairman  of  the 
Company  should  any  Co-Partner  or  Employee  feel  that  he 
has  been  over-looked  or  unfairly  dealt  with. 

For  the  purpose  of  the  Certificate  distribution  the  Staff 
is  divided  into  four  classes — Directors,  Managers  and  Fore- 
men, Salesmen,  General  Staff. 

The  Co-Partnership  extends  to  both  male  and  female. 

The  original  minimum  age-limit  for  Co-Partnership  was 
twenty-five  years,  but  is  now  lowered  to  twenty-two  years. 


110  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

Originally  the  Co-Partnership  Certificate  was  only  given 
after  five  years'  service;  now  it  is  given  after  four  years' 
service. 

The  Staff  sign  an  application  form,  containing  a  pledge 
in  the  following  terms: — 

"  To  the  Trustees  of  the  Partnership  Trust  in  Lever 

Brothers  Limited. 

"  GENTLEMEN, — I,  the  undersigned,  request  that  a 
Partnership  Certificate  be  issued  to  me  under  the  above 
Trust,  and  I  undertake  that  if  the  issue  is  made  I  will 
in  all  respects  abide  by,  and  conform  to,  the  provisions 
of  the  Trust  Deed  and  the  Scheme  scheduled  to  it,  and 
will  not  waste  time,  labour,  materials,  or  money  in  the 
discharge  of  my  duties,  but  will  loyally  and  faithfully 
further  the  interests  of  Lever  Brothers  Limited,  its 
Associated  Companies,  and  my  Co-Partners,  to  the  best 
of  my  skill  and  ability,  and  I  hand  you  herewith  a  state- 
ment in  writing  of  the  grounds  upon  which  I  base  this 
application." 

Once  admitted  and  so  long  as  their  record  is  clean<  Co- 
Partners  receive  further  Certificates  each  year  on  above 
basis  in  proportion  to  wages  or  salary,  until  they  have 
reached  their  maximum  holding,  which  ranges  from  £200 
to  £3,000,  according  to  their  annual  earnings. 

They  receive  dividends  on  the  amounts  of  their  accumu- 
lated Certificates  like  ordinary  Shareholders,  but  as  the 
Certificates  contribute  no  Capital  to  the  business,  they 
receive  on  that  account  5  per  cent,  less  than  is  paid  on 
Ordinary  Shares. 

The  dividends  are  paid  in  5  per  cent.  Cumulative  "  A  " 
Preferred  Ordinary  Shares,  which  the  holder  can  sell  at  any 
time  for  cash  at  par  value  if  he  so  desires ;  but  so  long  as 
the  shares  are  held  by  the  Co-Partner  to  whom  they  were 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  MANAGEMENT     111 

originally  allotted  they  also  participate  further  in  profits  to 
the  extent  that  they  yield  to  him  the  same  rate  of  interest 
as  that  enjoyed  by  the  Ordinary  Shareholder. 

These  5  per  cent.  Cumulative  "  A  "  Preferred  Ordinary 
Shares  can  only  be  allotted  as  dividends  in  lieu  of  cash. 

Co-Partnership  couples  up  Loss-Sharing  with  Profit- 
sharing.  If  a  man  has  acquired  Co-Partnership  Certifi- 
cates, and  if  profits  were  to  cease  to  be  earned,  he  would 
suffer  equally  with  Capital  in  loss  of  dividends. 

When  an  employee  retires  from  active  work  in  the  service 
of  the  firm,  his  Partnership  Certificates  are  cancelled,  but 
if  his  retirement  is  due  to  ill-health  or  old-age,  or  if  his 
services  are  dispensed  with  through  no  fault  of  his  own,  he 
receives  in  exchange  Preferential  Certificates  which  bear 
interest  at  5  per  cent,  on  their  nominal  par  value  and  are 
a  charge  on  the  profits  ranking  next  after  the  first  5  per  cent, 
taken  by  the  Ordinary  Shareholders. 

The  nominal  amount  of  a  Preferential  Certificate  is  either 
ten  times  the  average  dividends  paid  in  respect  of  the  former 
Director's  or  Employee's  Partnership  Certificates  during  the 
three  preceding  years,  or  the  same  nominal  amount  as  that 
of  the  Partnership  Certificate  so  exchanged,  whichever  shall 
be  the  lesser. 

The  granting  of  these  Certificates  does  not  in  any  way 
interfere  with  the  old  age  pensions  under  Lever  Brothers' 
Employees  Benefit  Fund. 

So  long  as  an  employee  is  in  the  active  service  of  the 
firm  he  cannot  (except  for  flagrant  inefficiency  or  miscon- 
duct) be  deprived  of  the  Partnership  Certificates  already 
issued  to  him,  and  the  annual  interest  which  may  be  pay- 
able on  those  Certificates.  The  conditions  can  only  be 
varied  by  the  consent  of  the  holders  of  not  less  than  three- 
fourths  of  the  total  nominal  amount  of  the  Certificates 
issued. 

Both  Partnership  and  Preferential  Certificates  are  can- 


112  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

celled  by  the  death  of  the  owner  unless  a  widow  is  left.  But 
a  widow  receives  Preferential  Certificates  in  exchange  for 
her  late  husband's  Partnership  Certificates,  or  if  he  had 
retired  and  was  holding  Preferential  Certificates,  these  are 
transferred  to  her,  and  she  is  entitled  to  hold  them,  subject 
to  the  conditions  of  the  Trust,  while  she  remains  a  widow. 

On  January  i,  1918,  the  nominal  value  of  the  Partner- 
ship Certificates,  Ordinary  and  Preferential,  issued  and  out- 
standing, was  £75 1, 536. 

At  the  same  date  the  number  of  Employee  Partners,  in- 
cluding employees  of  Associated  Companies  admitted  to  Co- 
Partner  ship,  was  5,066. 

In  the  nine  completed  years  of  the  Co-Partnership  there 
has  been  distributed,  for  the  benefit  of  the  employees,  in 
Co-Partnership  Dividends,  and  in  Prosperity-Sharing 
generally,  £487*353- 


VTT 
CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  EFFICIENCY 

THE  question  that  we  have  to  discuss  to-night  is  "  Co- 
Partner  ship  and  Efficiency/*  with  a  great  accent  on  the 
word  "  Efficiency."  In  approaching  the  subject,  What 
is  the  cause  of  Labour  Unrest?  there  is  a  strong  desire 
on  the  part  of  every  one  to  try  to  arrive  at  a  basis  which 
will  be  something  like  finality.  If  there  ever  is,  or  ever 
has  been,  an  age  that  was  or  is  worth  living  in,  it  is  this 
present  one.  There  is  no  age  where  Progress  has  planted 
so  strongly  and  firmly  a  determination  to  advance  to 
higher  ideals,  and  there  is  no  country  in  the  whole  world 
where  the  conditions  are  so  favourable  to  attain  the  high- 
est possible  well-being  of  the  mass  of  the  country  as  Great 
Britain. 

The  nineteenth  century  saw  the  triumphant  entry  of 
steam,  electricity,  machinery,  transportation  with  econ- 
omy and  efficiency  in  productive  enterprise,  and  the  crea- 
tion of  enormous  wealth.  More  wealth  was  produced  in 
the  nineteenth  century,  in  consequence  of  the  introduction 
of  the  above  forces,  than  in  all  the  centuries  that  have 
preceded  it  by  man's  unaided  handiwork  alone.  Manu- 
factures and  shipping  were  almost  in  the  same  condition 
in  the  eighteenth  century  as  they  were  in  the  time  of 
the  Romans,  and  if  Napoleon  the  Great  had  attempted  to 
invade  this  country,  he  would  have  done  so  practically 
under  the  same  conditions  as  Julius  Caesar,  both  being 
dependent  on  wind  and  tide. 

113 


114  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

If  the  nineteenth  century  was  responsible  for  the 
triumphant  introduction  of  new  methods  for  the  crea- 
tion of  wealth,  the  twentieth  century  must  see  the  triumph 
of  the  introduction  of  new  methods  for  the  more  equal 
distribution  of  wealth.  But  in  realizing,  or  attempting  to 
realize,  the  better  distribution  of  wealth,  we  must  not 
fall  behind  in  our  power  or  efficiency  to  produce  wealth. 
Therefore,  modern  developments  must  progress  along  the 
well-defined  lines  of  efficiency. 

Now  in  the  production  of  wealth  and  the  more  equal 
distribution  of  it,  I  do  claim  that,  however  great  the 
progress  already  made  has  been,  we  have  now  arrived  at 
a  stage  in  the  development  of  social  well-being  when, 
owing  to  the  changed  conditions  of  modern  industrial 
activity — men  and  women  being  employed  in  large  masses 
in  industrial  concerns,  resulting  in  the  obliteration  of  the 
individual  and  the  Joss  of  individual  self-interest  in  in- 
dustrial activity — we  may  fairly  inquire  what  has  been 
the  foundation  of  our  progress.  Now,  I  claim  that  this 
has  been  the  persistent,  consistent,  and  uninterrupted  ef- 
fort of  every  right-thinking  man  to  better  his  condition. 
This  has  laid  the  basis  of  all  the  progress  we  have  made. 
This  principle  is  as  unvarying  as  the  law  of  gravitation, 
and  it  is  from  the  operation  of  this  universal  law  of  self- 
interest  of  the  individual  that  all  progress  has  sprung  and 
is  maintained.  It  is  like  the  great  principle  of  life,  which 
is  ever  .operating  to  maintain  healthy  development ;  and 
if  Co-Partnership  does  not  improve  the  conditions  under 
which  we  are  living,  it  will  not  appeal  to  us  as  other  than 
a  modern  craze  which  will  have  its  day  and  die  out. 

We  have  to  consider  what  can  be  done  by  a  change  in 
our  relationship  with  each  other  in  productive  enter- 
prises. No  system  can  supply  the  place  of  individual 
effort,  yet  in  modern  productive  enterprise  collective  ac- 
tion, as  in  a  sound  army,  is  the  greatest  force.  We  have 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  EFFICIENCY      115 

to  consider  whether  the  connection  between  each  of  us 
shall  be  one  of  wages  alone,  or  wages  plus  shares  in  the 
profits  of  the  products  of  our  collective  labour.  The 
wages  system  was  a  great  advance  on  all  other  previous 
systems.  The  first  system  was  slavery,  and  that  was 
succeeded  by  serfdom,  and  then  by  the  wages  system, 
the  last-named  having  developed  the  principle  of  self- 
interest,  which  is  one  of  the  greatest  forces  behind  it.  By 
Co-Partnership,  we  recognize  the  great  fact  that  the 
Co-Partnership  system  is  founded  on  justice  and  on 
equal  rights,  for  each  of  us,  to  the  products  of  our 
labour.  Such  is  the  very  basis  of  Co-Partnership,  as 
distinguished  from  the  wages  system  alone,  and  it  is 
bound  to  stimulate  efficiency  and  economy  of  products, 
for  only  by  so  doing  can  it  increase  our  well-being  and 
prosperity. 

If  Co-Partnership  fails  to  increase  the  quantity  of  the 
products,  or  fails  to  improve  the  quality,  or  fails  to  en- 
sure economy  of  material,  tools,  or  implements,  or  fails 
in  the  better  organization  of  production,  or  fails  to  reduce 
the  waste  consequent  on  strikes  and  lock-outs,  then  it  is 
perfectly  obvious  that  Co-Partnership  is  an  absolutely 
useless  implement  of  production.  Any  short-cuts  to 
progress  will  fail,  and  any  false  methods  will  only  mis- 
lead us.  In  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  the  prizes  in 
commerce,  as  in  all  other  human  activities,  will  always 
go  to  the  strong,  and  we  cannot  alter  that  law,  but  it 
is  equajly  true  that  such  prizes  cannot  be  held  by  the 
cunning.  Only  the  strong  can  hold  them,  and  the  mere 
conflict  of  private  interests  in  producing  wealth  will  not 
enable  us  to  hold  the  prize  that  has  been  won  as  a  result 
of  indefatigable  labour  and  struggle.  Business  produc- 
tive enterprise,  as  in  all  other  activities,  must  end  where 
it  begins,  namely,  with  the  workers  of  all  ranks  and  posi- 
tions who  are  producing  wealth.  The  way  we  work  to- 


116  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

gether  under  the  wages  system  is,  in  my  opinion,  always 
against  the  modern  spirit  of  the  times — selfish  Capital 
and  selfish  Labour  cannot  live  together  as  efficient  and 
economical  producers  of  commodities.  The  Golden  Rule, 
brotherhood  and  confidence,  so  often  despised,  must  be 
introduced  into  business,  as  into  all  other  affairs  of  life. 
The  business  world  is  quivering  with  an  impulse  at  the 
present  time,  and  with  a  strong  desire,  to  get  workers 
into  more  intimate  connection  with  each  other  and  to 
cease  the  continual  warfare  that  exists.  The  elevation 
of  the  workers  to  the  front  rank  is  an  ideal  worth  living 
for,  and,  in  the  end,  there  is  very  little  else  in  busi- 
ness after  the  mere  productive  enterprise  has  been 
developed — there  is  very  little  else  worth  living 
for. 

There  can  be  no  successful  development  of  business 
that  does  not  carry  the  employees  along  with  it.  Con- 
sciously or  unconsciously,  we  must  all  aim  at  the  com- 
mon good  of  all  engaged  in  any  productive  enterprise. 
Well-being  first  of  all,  as  I  have  already  mentioned,  con- 
sists in  the  increase  of  the  power  of  production  and  the 
consequent  increase  of  wages,  and  also  a  decrease  in  the 
hours  of  labour,  without  which  there  can  be  no  increase 
in  social  well-being.  Now,  this  increase  can  only  be 
secured  by  increasing  the  producing  power  of  labour 
with  less  expenditure  of  vital  force,  and  this  will  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  reduction  of  the  proportion  of  cost  which 
labour  bears  to  the  total  cost  of  any  product,  and  which, 
in  turn,  will  lead  to  a  reduction  in  the  cost  of  the  prod- 
uct, and,  consequently,  to  its  increased  consumption, 
and  this,  in  turn,  will  allow  an  increased  margin  in  the 
wages  to  be  paid  to  Labour,  and  a  reduction  in  the  hours 
of  labour.  In  fact,  the  whole  progress  of  civilization  in 
the  last  century  under  the  wages  system  has  followed 
along  those  lines — there  may  have  been  ebbs  and  flows  in 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  EFFICIENCY     117 

the  tide,  but  the  tide  of  social  betterment  has  flowed 
along  this  channel. 

Now,  we  have  to  consider,  when  we  approach  the  sub- 
ject of  Co-Partner  ship,  to  what  extent,  and  by  what 
means,  can  the  productiveness  of  labour  be  improved 
and  the  expenditure  of  the  vital  force  of  labour  be  les- 
sened, and  this  has  to  be  our  first  step  if  we  would  make 
any  advancement.  If  we  consider  the  question  of  farm- 
ing, we  find  that,  where  the  productiveness  of  labour  on 
the  land  results  in  the  lowest  return,  wages  are  the 
lowest.  When,  from  eight  bushels  of  wheat  from  the 
acre,  we  have  by  better  cultivation  increased  the  yield  to 
over  thirty  bushels  per  acre — practically  quadrupled  the 
production — we  find  that  with  the  quadruplication  of  the 
product  the  wages  are  two-and-a-half  times  what  they 
were,  the  hours  of  labour  are  shorter,  and  that  the 
product  is  consequently  cheaper,  all  because  the  produc- 
tion is  four  times  greater.  You  will  find  to-day  in  our 
own  country,  as  in  all  other  countries,  that  where  the 
quantity  produced  at  any  stage  of  manufacture  is  great- 
est, with  the  lowest  cost  of  labour  in  proportion  to  the 
total  cost  of  the  product,  then  wages  are  the  highest; 
and  that  where  the  total  cost  of  labour  is  the  highest  in 
proportion  to  the  total  cost  of  the  product,  wages  are 
the  lowest.  Now,  with  the  lessened  proportion  of  labour 
to  the  total  cost,  there  will  have  developed,  to  a  very 
marked  degree,  the  cheapening  of  the  product,  and  only 
on  these  well-defined  and  well-tested  lines  can  there  be  an 
increase  in  the  earning  power  of  labour. 

There  is  one  essential  fact  which  is  overlooked  by  most 
working  men  when  they  approach  this  subject,  namely, 
that,  simultaneously  with  the  increase  of  average  wages 
there  has  been  a  correspondingly  steady  decrease  in  the 
average  earnings  of  capital  invested  in  industrial  enter- 
prise. This  is  a  solid  fact  that  ought  not  to  be  over- 


118  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

looked.  Interest  on  capital  is  highest  in  all  countries 
where  the  productive  power  of  labour  is  the  lowest,  and 
also  wages  are  the  lowest;  and  in  all  countries  where  the 
productive  power  of  labour  is  the  highest,  there  wages  are 
also  the  highest,  and  interest  on  capital  the  lowest.  Of 
course,  there  may  have  been  periods  when  the  demand 
for  Capital  having  exceeded  the  supply — for  short 
periods — Capital  may  have  had  an  advantage;  but  we 
can  trace  without  possibility  of  error  that,  to  increase  the 
productive  power  of  labour  and  the  wages  to  Labour, 
has  the  tendency  to  decrease  the  interest  earned  by 
Capital. 

The  reason  for  this  is  obvious.  Capital  invested  in 
industry  has  always  to  be  engaged  in  seeking  to  meet  its 
liabilities  for  interest,  and,  therefore,  must  employ  La- 
bour, and  when  Capital  invested  in  industry  ceases  to 
employ  Labour  to  meet  its  obligations  for  interest — this 
great  fact  has  to  be  borne  in  mind — Capital  then  has 
ceased  to  exist.  It  is  entirely  apparent  that  the  larger  the 
prospective  return  on  Capital  invested  in  industries,  and 
the  more  Capital  competes  to  obtain  Labour,  this  must 
result  ultimately  in  less  interest  being  received  by  Capital 
itself.  Every  period  of  extreme  industrial  activity  must, 
of  course,  see  some  slight  modification  in  this.  Now, 
whilst  at  the  same  time  that  Capital  has  been  receiving 
less,  Labour  of  all  kinds,  including  salary  to  Management, 
has  received  more,  not  only  have  the  nominal  wages  in- 
creased, but  the  actual  wages,  calculated  in  the  purchasing 
power,  have  increased  also. 

Now,  we  therefore  see,  in  view  of  the  progress  we 
have  made  in  the  nineteenth  century,  that  the  wages  sys- 
tem and  the  so-called  capitalist  system  have  no  reason  to 
be  apologetical  for  themselves  and  it  behooves  any  one 
who,  like  myself,  believes  in  Co-Partner  ship,  to  have  full 
regard  to  this  solid  fact  in  considering  new  methods  for 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  EFFICIENCY     119 

betterment  and  advancement  of  social  well-being.  The 
present  wages  and  so-called  capitalist  system  is  in  opera- 
tion all  over  the  world,  and  it  has  given  us  more  and 
better  food,  more  and  better  clothing,  more  and  better 
houses,  more  and  better  education,  more  and  better 
wages,  shorter  hours,  lower  cost  of  commodities,  lower 
cost  of  travelling,  better  health,  more  rapid  transit,  and 
better  means  of  recreation.  But  the  so-called  capital  and 
wages  system  has  only  succeeded  to  the  extent  that  it 
has  moved  along  the  lines  of  the  principle  of  enlightened 
self-interest.  Now,  I  daim  that  still  greater  development 
can  be  made  in  our  system  of  employment  of  labour  in 
industrial  activities  by  directly  increasing  the  personal 
interest  of  labour  engaged  in  industries,  and,  if  this 
is  so,  then  Co-Partnership,  as  I  understand  it,  must  de- 
pend for  its  power  to  increase  our  rate  of  progress  on 
improving  the  social  conditions  and  on  increasing  our 
economical  producing  powers.  Co-Partnership  cannot 
reverse  the  law  that  has  operated  during  the  last  century 
in  giving  us  more  and  better  food  and  clothing,  higher 
wages,  etc.,  by  means  of  our  power  to  produce  more  of 
those  products  at  a  cheaper  cost,  in  fewer  hours  of  labour. 
If  Co-Partnership  does  not  operate  on  those  lines  that 
have  been  so  well  tested,  and  are  the  proved  basis  of  our 
success  in  the  past,  then  it  is  a  useless  and  silly  fad. 

Co-Partnership  must,  as  the  very  charter  of  its  exist- 
ence, so  operate  that  it  can  produce  more  and  better 
food,  clothing,  houses,  and  social  requirements  in  fewer 
hours  and  with  less  unhealthy  strain  and  stress,  and 
with  ability  to  meet  the  problem  of  increased  demands  in 
wages  by  giving  Labour,  in  addition  to  wages,  a  share 
in  the  profits  of  the  enterprise.  How  does  Co-Partner- 
ship propose  to  achieve  success?  Co-Partnership  does 
not  propose  to  abolish  the  wages  system.  It  does  not 
propose  to  abolish  payment  of  interest  on  Capital;  but  it 


120  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

does  propose  a  modification  of  the  wages  system,  and  a 
modification  in  the  relation  of  that  portion  of  Capital 
engaged  in  industrial  products  which  is  at  risk,  which  is 
taking  the  risk  of  the  enterprise,  but  no  change  in  the 
relation  of  that  portion  of  Capital  which  seeks  a  more 
secure  position  at  a  fixed  rate  of  interest.  Co-Partner- 
ship  proposes  to  retain  Management  in  its  present  posi- 
tion, and  it  proposes  to  retain  the  wages  system  and  also 
interest  on  Capital,  and  to  ask  that  portion  of  Capital 
which  is  at  risk  to  join  in  partnership  with  Labour. 

Now,  there  is  one  distinct  fact  in  connection  with 
modern  productive  activity  under  the  co-operative  system. 
It  has  been  a  wonder  to  many  people  why  co-operative 
production  has  not  progressed  at  a  greater  rate.  In  my 
opinion,  the  cause  of  this  partial  failure  of  co-operative 
production  has  been  that  the  co-operative  system  ignores 
Management,  and  lowers  Management  into  the  position 
of  a  fixed  wage-drawer;  whereas,  under  the  ordinary 
system  of  production,  Management,  as  owner,  has  had 
a  direct  interest  in  the  profits  of  the  undertaking.  The 
Co-Partnership  system  we  advocate  would  remove 
Labour  from  its  present  position  of  wage-drawer  or 
salary-drawer  to  the  higher  position  of  a  partner  in  the 
success  or  failure  of  the  business,  and,  to  that  extent,  it 
is  an  advance  which  moves  the  whole  of  those  engaged 
in  industrial  production  on  to  a  higher  platform,  whijst 
the  co-operative  system  lowers  those  engaged  in  direct 
management  to  the  ranks  of  the  wage  or  salary  worker. 

In  agriculture,  Co-Partnership,  as  you  all  know,  is  the 
oldest  system  of  any.  In  the  fishing  industry,  Co-Part- 
nership is  the  practice,  and  always  has  been,  from  time 
immemorial.  The  owner  finds  the  ship  and  takes  his 
share  of  the  catch;  the  captain  finds  the  skill  and  ability 
in  navigation,  and  his  labour,  and  he  takes  his  share  of 
the  catch;  and  the  crew,  in  their  turn,  take  their  share 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  EFFICIENCY     121 

of  the  catch.  Now  this  is,  I  think,  the  most  concrete  ex- 
ample of  Co-Partner  ship  we  have,  and  we  may  depend 
upon  it  that  fishing  on  those  lines  will  have  the  effect 
on  all  in  the  fishing-boat  that  Co-Partnership  will  have, 
namely,  a  direct  interest  in  the  profits  of  their  joint 
combined  efforts,  so  that  in  alertness  to  discover  the 
whereabouts  of  the  fish,  and  in  lowering  and  hauling  in 
the  nets,  every  faculty  shall  be  exerted  in  order  that  the 
catch  be  as  large  as  possible. 

We  are  all  servants  of  the  public  engaged  in  industrial 
occupations,  and  there  is  no  distinction  between  us,  and 
that  is  why  I  do  not  agree  with  the  terms  "  master  "  and 
"  servant,"  as  we  are  all  servants  of  the  public — the  so- 
called  master  just  as  much  as  the  merest  office-boy. 
Neither  so-called  master  nor  servant  is  satisfied  with  the 
present  system;  the  employer  has  to  adopt  many  make- 
shifts, such  as  piece-work,  bonuses,  and  such-like,  to  in- 
crease the  interest  of  Labour  in  the  product  of  Labour; 
but  in  my  opinion,  the  only  sojid  means  of  realizing  such 
ideals  is  by  giving  the  workman  a  direct  interest  in  the 
product  of  his  own  handiwork,  and  I  claim  that  the  only 
effective  way  in  which  that  can  be  done  is  by  means  of 
Co-Partnership.  No  one  considers  that  the  wages  system 
is  ideal;  employers,  by  their  actions,  if  not  by  their  words, 
admit  that  it  is  a  wrong  basis,  and  the  best  we  can  say 
of  it  is,  that  it  is  an  advance  on  all  previous  systems. 

I  claim  that  the  next  advance  we  have  to  make  to  a 
higher  level  must  be  by  means  of  Co-Partnership,  and 
I  will  tell  you,  apart  from  the  points  I  have  referred  to, 
one  great  gain  this  will  be  over  the  wages  system,  namely, 
the  reducing  of  the  strain  and  responsibility  thrown  upon 
the  employer  or  proprietor  of  the  business.  The  man 
who  draws  wages  cannot  reasonably  be  expected  to  worry 
about  production  and  profits  when  he  goes  home  at 
nights,  but  the  man  whose  capital  and  whose  very  liveli- 


122  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

hood  is  involved  is  bound  to  worry  about  these.  When 
we  are  all  Co-Partners,  this  worry,  now  pressing  with 
crushing  force  on  the  heads  and  backs  of  a  few  men,  will 
rest  on  the  backs,  the  brains,  and  the  heart  of  the  whole 
body  of  those  who  are  engaged  in  the  industry.  Co- 
Partnership  will  give  equal  interest,  and  is,  therefore, 
bound  to  give  equal  responsibility  to  each  by  substituting 
a  partner  for  a  wage-drawer,  whether  the  profits  have 
increased  or  not.  I  do  not  see  any  reason  why  profits 
should  not  be  increased,  but  whether  profits  are  increased 
or  not,  the  enjoyments  and  the  pleasures  in  business,  and 
the  relief  from  worry  and  strain  in  working  with  Co- 
Partners  rather  than  with  wage-drawers,  will  more  than 
compensate. 

Modern  industrialism  has  deprived  us  of  the  ability  to 
produce  goods  individually.  One  man,  for  instance,  has 
no  power  to  produce  one  hundred  pins  as  a  commercial 
proposition  successfully,  but  one  hundred  men,  taking 
the  various  stages  of  the  production  of  pins,  going  hand- 
in-hand,  can  produce  hundreds  of  millions  of  pins  as  a 
successful  commercial  proposition.  Now,  there  is  onfly 
one  elevation  possible  for  the  worker,  as  for  all  others; 
he  must  preserve  his  individualistic  faculties,  and  must 
cultivate  their  extension  and  his  higher  powers,  and  if 
our  system  of  Co-Partnership  does  not  inspire  a  man 
with  the  idea  of  raising  himself,  then  it  is  futile.  You 
cannot  push  a  man  up  a  ladder — there  is  no  other  means 
of  elevating  a  man  than  by  letting  him  climb  up  the  ladder 
by  himself,  and  that  is  equally  true  of  the  master  and  of 
the  man.  There  are  not  two  different  ladders — and  I 
want  to  emphasize  this — one  for  the  master  and  one  for 
the  workman;  but  they  have  both  to  climb  the  same 
ladder,  which  ladder  is — producing  more  goods  with  less 
labour  in  fewer  hours,  so  as  to  allow  for  larger  wages 
and  a  bigger  margin  for  profit.  The  idea  that  the  work- 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  EFFICIENCY     123 

man's  interest  is  opposed  to  the  master's  is  entirely 
wrong,  as  they  are  both  bound  together,  and  it  must  not 
be  forgotten  that  the  workman — the  human  machine — 
if  he  is  a  "  hand,"  is  human.  I  always  resent  the  phrase 
that  we  have  when  we  speak  of  so  many  "  hands,"  as  if 
we  were  dealing  with  a  mere  hand  without  the  brain  or 
heart  of  a  man.  I  believe  that,  if  we  appeal  to  a  man's 
sense  of  justice  and  right,  we  may  take  him  into  our 
confidence  and  elevate  his  character,  and,  in  that  way,  we 
shall  have  assistance  in  our  business,  which  will  not  only 
make  our  business  run  more  smoothly,  but  will  also  assist 
us  from  the  point  of  view  of  cheaper  methods  of  produc- 
tion, by  the  high  efficiency  this  will  bring  out.  Just  as 
machinery,  electricity,  steam,  and  all  other  mechanical 
appliances  of  productive  power  have  enormously  in- 
creased wealth,  so  I  believe  that  if  we  take  the  workman 
more  into  our  confidence,  so  as  to  develop  his  highest 
powers  by  making  him  a  Co-Partner,  he  will  become  a 
better  producer  of  the  products  he  turns  out,  because 
we  shall  have  fostered  a  spirit  of  comradeship  and 
brotherhood. 

I  always  resent  the  maudlin  sentiment  that  is  often 
talked  in  reference  to  Co-Partnership.  Sometimes  it  is 
described  as  extremely  "  generous,"  and  the  man  at  the 
back  of  it  is  spoken  of  as  a  "  philanthropist " ;  that  is  all 
nonsense,  and  probably  this  is  the  reason  why  Co- 
Partnership  schemes  in  the  past  have  not  lasted  for  more 
than  five  years  on  an  average.  If  a  man  thinks  Co- 
Partnership  is  a  system  which  is  "  generous  "  or  "  phil- 
anthropic," he  is  approaching  it  on  lines  which  will, 
sooner  or  later,  bring  it  to  decay.  We  do  not  consider  it 
generous  to  buoy  channels  of  rivers,  nor  do  we  consider 
it  philanthropic  to  put  lighthouses  round  our  coast  to 
mark  sunken  rocks,  but  we  consider  all  that  good,  sound 
business ;  and  I  say  that,  to  enable  the  individual  to  avoid 


124  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

shipwreck  on  rocks  of  wrong  methods,  to  enable  us  to 
raise  our  fellow-workers  to  the  height  which  inspires 
ourselves,  is  bound  to  cheapen  production.  Then  let  us 
dismiss  all  vague,  maudlin,  wrong  ideas  on  the  subject 
of  Co-Partnership.  Co-Partner  ship  can  only  be  a  means 
of  better,  fairer,  and  more  just  relationship  of  so-called 
employer  and  employee,  resulting  in  better  productive 
activities. 

With  regard  to  the  question  of  management,  I  want 
you  to  understand  that  the  progress  of  Co-Partnership 
must,  essentially,  be  one  of  education;  for  instance,  you 
could  not  take  a  man  from  the  ranks,  as)  a  navvy  or 
labourer,  and  suddenly  make  him  a  Director  of  a  Com- 
pany with  ideals  and  standards  of  high  management;  it 
is  not  reasonable  to  expect  it. 

I  believe  that  wages  are  going  steadily  to  rise,  and  I 
believe  that  the  firms  who  are  giving  Co-Partnership  can 
always  rise  with  them  and  always  continue  to  pay  the 
highest  rate  of  wages.  Of  course,  as  I  have  always  ex- 
plained, we  have  ourselves  to  make  the  profits,  and  I  want 
to  point  out  what  is  the  difference  between  an  article 
priced  by  the  manufacturer  on  a  high  scale  of  wages,  as 
in  some  countries  I  have  visited,  and  the  benefit  to  the 
man  who  produces  articles  and  receives  wages  and  also 
a  share  in  the  profits.  The  complaint  in  all  high-waged 
countries  is  the  high  cost  of  living.  It  does  not  matter 
what  country  you  go  to,  where  the  wages  are  high  the 
cost  of  living  is  proportionately  high,  and  when  the 
English  Government  made  their  Board  of  Trade  Report, 
they  found  that  although  the  wages  were  lower  in  Eng- 
land, the  amount  paid  for  house  accommodation,  the 
quantity  of  clothing  and  food  which  could  be  purchased 
by  those  wages  was  greater  than  the  amount  which  could 
be  purchased  with  the  higher  wages  in  other  countries. 
In  other  words,  the  conditions  of  the  workers  in  this 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  EFFICIENCY     125 

country,  taking  the  cost  of  living,  clothing,  and  food  in 
proportion  to  their  wages,  was  better  in  the  United  King- 
dom than  in  any  other  country  in  the  world.  But  Iwant 
this  country  to  have  the  highest  wages  possible  without 
the  cost  of  living  being  increased.  If  the  cost  of  living 
goes  up  here,  as  I  have  seen  it  go  up  in  other  countries, 
a  Board  of  Trade  Report  would  come  along  and  say  we 
are  no  better  off  in  1930  than  in  1910.  The  wages  in 
1930,  I  am  sure,  are  going  to  be  very  much  higher  than 
now,  but  in  my  opinion  real  betterment  can  only  be  ob- 
tained by  Co-Partnership.  Now,  this  is  a  business  propo- 
sition, and  I  notice  Mr.  Greenhalgh  transfixing  me  with 
his  accountancy  eye,  and  I  hope  he  will  tell  me  if  I  am 
wrong  in  my  next  remark.  If  any  statement  of  cost 
is  prepared  for  me  with  regard  to  any  article  we  produce, 
Mr.  Greenhalgh  will  put  down  in  that  statement  the 
wages  of  the  men  who  are  working  in  that  department. 
Whatever  wages  they  receive  will  go  as  a  charge  against 
that  article.  In  addition,  there  will  be  the  interest  and 
depreciation  on  the  machine  they  are  working.  Then 
there  will  be  the  cost  of  power,  interest  and  depreciation 
on  buildings,  which  in  turn  will  be  made  up  on  the  basis 
of  the  amount  paid  to  the  men  who  made  the  bricks 
and  the  mortar;  the  joiners  who  made  the  doors,  win- 
dows, and  flooring,  and  so  on.  Mr.  Greenhalgh  never 
inserts  in  that  statement  any  provision  for  cost  of  Co- 
Partnership  share  of  profits  or  any  dividends  to  Share- 
holders at  all.  We  see  that  there  is  a  margin  of  profit 
which,  in  our  opinion,  will  be  possible  of  achievement. 
We  might  ask  a  profit  which  would  result  in  our  not  being 
able  to  sell  our  article  at  the  price,  or  which  would  result 
in  the  article  being  sold  at  a  loss.  But  the  prime  cost, 
whatever  it  is,  is  made  up  of  wages,  interest,  and  de- 
preciation on  buildings,  plant,  and  machinery,  and  all 
fixed  charges.  You  all  know  that.  If  we  work,  there- 


126  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

fore,  on  a  Co-Partnership  basis,  and  divide  the  profits, 
the  profits  come  without  increasing  the  prime  cost  of  the 
product.  I  want  you  to  see  that.  The  profits  come  with- 
out increasing  the  cost  of  the  article  produced.  The  em- 
ployer always  takes  into  account  the  cost  of  materials, 
wages,  etc.,  but  he  never  takes  into  his  cost  the  profit 
he  desires  to  make  on  the  contract.  He  allows  for  a 
profit,  and  therefore  if  we  divide  the  profits  with  the 
workers,  we  are  sharing  in  the  reservoir  of  profits,  which 
have  not  been  added  to  the  cost  of  the  article,  but  have 
been  produced  by  the  business  ability,  by  the  foresight, 
by  the  knowledge  of  the  markets,  etc.,  of  the  employer. 
In  hardly  any  industry  can  you  see  a  profit  on  an  article 
if  you  eliminate  foresight  in  buying  your  supplies,  skill 
in  managing  your  business,  and  knowledge  of  trade  con- 
ditions in  selling  your  article.  There  never  is  a  profit 
if  you  are  not  possessed  of  these,  and  the  reason  why 
some  firms  collapse  and  why  some  men  are  never  able 
to  carry  on  a  business,  is  because  they  never  see  beyond 
the  end  of  their  nose.  They  can  only  think  of  the  im- 
mediate job  in  hand,  and  can  only  buy  to-day  if  they  can 
sell  to-day.  They  cannot  see  into  the  long  and  distant 
future.  They  cannot  think  what  the  effect  of  this  or  that 
will  be  ten  years  hence  and  so  on.  In  our  business  we 
are  to-day  only  getting  profits,  or  at  any  rate  only  for  the 
last  few  years,  practically  to-day,  from  undertakings 
which  we  started  in  1901,  1902,  and  1903,  and  to-day  we 
are  spending  money  in  many  directions  which  cannot 
bring  us  profits  until  five  years  hence. 

That  is  the  way  profits  are  made.  In  the  open  market 
of  competition  between  two  firms  there  never  wi'll  be  a 
profit,  never  could  be  a  profit.  It  is  only  this  business 
acumen  and  foresight  that  will  ever  produce  profits. 
Therefore  profits  are  not  added  to  the  cost,  they  are  the 
reward  of  efficiency  of  the  staff,  and  the  reward  of 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  EFFICIENCY     127 

efficiency  of  the  employer,  and  if  we  enter  into  a  system 
of  Co-Partnership  we  can  produce  profits  by  our  ability, 
"  Waste  not,  want  not,"  and  by  our  efficiency,  without  in- 
creasing the  cost  of  the  goods.  Therefore,  the  better- 
ment of  the  workers  in  this  country  will  be  increased  in 
the  same  way  as  the  betterment  of  the  masters  has  been 
— not  by  salaries.  I  can  tell  you  of  private  firms  where 
partners  may  be  drawing  £  10,000  a  year  in  profits  and 
only  £500  a  year  as  salary,  the  salary  being  put  down 
as  all  they  would  be  worth  as  ordinary  managers  of  the 
business.  What  the  profits  are  after  they  have  charged 
that  salary  they  take  as  partners.  That  is  the  common 
rule  under  all  partnership  arrangements.  That  profit  has 
been  made  by  their  business  acumen  and  foresight,  but  is 
not  added  to  the  cost  of  the  article.  If  it  had  been  added 
to  the  cost,  the  article,  perhaps,  could  not  have  been  sold. 
They  have  been  able  to  make  a  profit  by  their  application 
to  business,  by  their  keenness  and  alertness,  and  by  their 
acquaintance  with  the  markets,  and  so  we  can,  and  why 
should  not  that  spirit  permeate  through  all  the  staff  and 
animate  every  one  if  we  are  going  to  share  in  the  profits? 
If  this  system  is  right  we  can  increase  the  well-being 
and  betterment  of  the  members  of  the  staff  without 
increasing  the  cost  of  living.  There  is  no  other  system  in 
the  world  by  which  this  may  be  done. 

Wages  Boards  may  sit  and  decide  that  the  cost  of 
living  has  gone  up  and  that  another  2s.  a  week,  or  what- 
ever it  may  be,  must  be  added  to  the  wages  of  labour. 
The  cost  of  the  article  is  then  increased,  and  this  goes 
on  all  round  till  the  effect  produced  is  that  the  cost  of 
living  has  again  gone  up  all  round,  and  the  labourer 
says,  "  I  am  no  better  off  for  the  2s."  How  can  he  be  ? 
It  is  an  impossibility.  If  you  are  going  to  put  2s.  more 
on,  say,  to  the  price  of  soap,  soap  will  be  dearer — there 
is  no  other  way.  But  if  we  join  in  partnership  and  by 


128  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

business  acumen  and  foresight  can  produce  our  goods 
with  skill  and  ability  and  market  them  with  skill  and 
ability,  we  can  produce  our  profits  without  adding  to  the 
cost  of  the  goods.  We  can  divide  these  profits  amongst 
us,  increasing  the  benefit  to  every  one,  actually,  really, 
and  tangibly,  not  artificially  and  nominally.  In  one  of 
the  countries  I  visited,  I  saw  a  house  of  the  type  in 
which  you  would  care  to  live,  and  the  rent  was  22$. 
6d.  a  week,  and  for  very  poor  houses  the  rent  was  145. 
a  week.  But  there  is  no  mystery  about  it.  The  builder 
has  to  consider  the  cost  of  wages  for  the  bricklayers, 
etc.,  and  the  cost  of  materials.  The  house  costs  a  certain 
sum,  and  that  fixes  the  rent,  and  if  he  cannot  get  the 
rent  he  does  not  build  the  house.  So,  therefore,  the 
supply  of  houses  is  just  in  proportion  to  what  people  will 
pay,  and  what  the  house  costs.  It  cannot  be  any  other 
way.  The  same  applies  to  a  tailor.  He  has  to  pay  certain 
wages,  and  the  coat  must  cost  so  much.  The  point  is,  we 
are  all  consumers  as  well  as  producers. 

I  want  wages  to  go  up.  They  will  go  up,  but  I  want 
better  conditions  to  go  up  in  advance  of  wages.  I  do  not 
want  the  rise  to  be  an  artificial  one,  but  a  real  one,  so  that 
as  wages  go  up,  better  conditions  may  go  up  with  them. 
It  is  not  a  real  increase  when  a  man  receives  more  wages 
and  has  to  pay  all  the  advance  away  in  higher  cost  of 
living. 

In  one  country  a  number  of  people  called  upon  me  and 
asked  me  to  help  them  with  their  passage  home.  I  also 
received  a  pathetic  letter  from  one  woman  in  which  she 
told  me  a  tale  of  great  hardship,  of  how  her  husband 
and  herself  managed  to  live.  It  must  be  so  in  these 
countries.  It  could  be  no  other  way,  because  we  are  all 
workers  and  all  consumers.  It  may  be  all  right  for 
persons  who  draw  their  money  from  some  other  source, 
but  the  workers  of  a  country  are  the  consumers  of  a 


CO-PARTNERSHIP  AND  EFFICIENCY     129 

country.  When  they  draw  higher  wages  articles  must 
be  dearer,  but  if  you  work  together  as  Co-Partners  with 
fairness,  and  with  determination  to  conduct  our  business 
properly,  the  same  will  not  occur.  A  man  who  becomes  a 
builder  on  his  own  account  knows  perfectly  well  that 
his  success  or  otherwise  depends  entirely  on  his  skill. 
It  depends  on  that  skill  whether  or  not  he  makes  a 
profit  on  a  contract.  Are  not  we  all  Co-Partners  and 
therefore  can  all  be  profit  earners?  I  have  tried  to  show 
you  Co-Partnership  is  real.  I  have  tried  to  show  you 
that  those  firms  mentioned  in  the  official  report  of  the 
French  Government  who  have  Co-Partnership  are  paying 
the  highest  rate  of  wages,  working  the  shortest  hours, 
have  the  best  sick  benefits  and  best  holiday  arrangements. 
Therefore,  those  advantages  are  not  at  the  expense  of 
the  wages.  Those  benefits  come  out  of  the  increased 
efficiency  of  the  employer  and  the  increased  efficiency 
of  the  workers. 

In  conclusion,  and  with  your  permission,  I  would  just 
like  to  quote  from  Robert  Browning  a  few  lines  which, 
slightly  adapted,  seem  appropriate  to  such  an  occasion 
as  this : — 

The  common  problem,  yours,  mine,  every  one's 
Is — not  to  fancy  what  were  fair  in  life 
Provided  it  could  be — but,  finding  first 
What  may  be,  then  find  how  to  make  it  fair 
Up  to  our  means :  a  very  different  thing ! 

Our  business  is  not  to  remake  ourselves, 

But  make  the  absolute  best  of  what  God  made. 

ESSENTIALS  OF  CO-PARTNERSHIP 

(l)  Co-Partnership  must  not  degenerate  into  charity  or  philan- 
thropy.   It  would  be  an  insult  to  the  workers  if  it  did. 


130  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

(2)  The  object  must  be  to  increase  efficiency,  resulting  in  in- 

creased prosperity  for  all — not  for  the  man  on  the  top 
only,  but  for  all. 

(3)  It  must  maintain  the  supremacy  of  Management.    Just  as  in 

the  Army  we  must  have  corporals  and  sergeants  and 
so  on  up  to  generals,  so  in  industrial  organization  there 
must  be  various  stages  of  management  arranged  to 
ensure  efficiency,  and  these  must  be  maintained. 

(4)  Co-Partnership  must  not  result  in  the  weakening  of  Man- 

agement, but,  on  the  other  hand,  Labour  must  be  free 
to  work  out  its  own  ideals— free  from  the  tyrannies  of 
victimization  if  it  expresses  its  views. 

(5)  There   must  be   a  greater   stability   in   these   arrangements 

than  a  mere  cash  bonus. 

(6)  The  benefits   of   Co-Partnership  must  extend  to  the  wives 

and  children.  I  attach  the  utmost  importance  to  that. 
A  man  must  know  that  his  share  in  Co-Partnership,  at 
his  death,  will  go  to  his  widow  during  her  widowhood. 

(7)  It   must   elevate    Management   and   Labour   equally   in    the 

social  scale. 

(8)  It  must  not  be  antagonistic  to  the  legitimate  rights  of  the 

workers  not  of  the  managers,  and 

(9)  The  control  must  rest  with  those  who  find  the  capital. 

When  we  have  Co-Partnership  founded  on  these  lines  there  will 
still  have  to  continue  the  underlying  wages  system,  and  the  wages 
system  must  be  maintained  on  the  highest  scale  practicable  in  the 
particular  industry.  In  other  words,  those  firms  who  adopt  Co- 
Partnership  must  lead  the  way  in  advances  of  wages  as  well  as 
in  the  benefits  of  Co-Partnership.  I  was  pleased  to  note  in  the 
recent  Board  of  Trade  Returns  on  Co-Partnership  that  it  is  there 
stated  that  the  firms  which  have  adopted  this  system  were  firms 
which  had  given  the  greatest  betterment  conditions  and  the  highest 
wages — that  is  essential.  If  it  were  not  essential  there  would  be 
no  benefit  in  Co-Partnership ;  it  would  be  the  mere  attachment  of 
workmen  to  works  for  an  elusive  advantage.  The  conditions  must 
not  only  be  better,  but  the  wage  itself  must  be  slightly  higher  than 
that  paid  in  other  establishments.  It  cannot  be  greatly  higher, 
because  the  cost  of  production  is  a  factor  that  has  to  be  taken  into 
account 


VIII 
CO-OPERATIVE  ASPECT  OF  BUSINESS 

THERE  are  many  ways  besides  sharing  profits  in  which 
you  can  make  those  associated  with  you  in  business  into 
partners.  I  know  many  businesses  where  Profit-sharing 
and  Co-Partnership  in  profits  are  quite  impossible.  Take 
the  great  business  of  domestic  service.  There  are  no 
profits  appearing  in  the  balance-sheet  of  servants  of  a 
household  and  the  duties  they  perform,  and  yet  we  all 
know  that  a  kind  and  encouraging  word  will  do  far 
more  in  making  life  comfortable  to  the  servant  and 
happy  for  the  mistress,  and  in  making  the  home  bright 
and  cheerful,  than  any  mercenary  bond  there  may  be 
between  them.  And  so,  also,  the  trader,  however  small 
his  staff  may  be,  however  impossible  it  may  be  to  have  a 
Profit-Sharing  scheme  of  an  elaborate  nature,  can,  by 
consideration  of  his  staff,  make  them  just  as  enthusi- 
astically his  partners  as  by  any  sharing  of  profits  what- 
ever. Why,  every  trader  must,  if  his  business  is  to  suc- 
ceed, enthuse  and  put  energy  into  his  staff,  and,  believe 
me,  enthusiasm  and  energy  are  synonymous  terms.  By 
consideration  of  their  hours  of  work,  by  cheerfulness 
towards  them,  by  courtesy  to  them,  by  the  payment  of  the 
highest  wage  the  business  will  afford,  the  employer  may 
energize  his  staff,  and  stimulate  them  in  a  way  that  would 
not  be  possible  in  a  larger  business,  even  with  the  most 
complicated,  elaborate,  complete,  and  generous  scheme  of 
Co-Partnership.  There  must  be  personal  contact  on  these 
lines. 

131 


132  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

You  know,  business  is  business;  and  good  business 
demands  enthusiastic  workers;  and  you  can't  get  ener- 
getic, efficient  work  without  some  bond  of  sympathy 
between  employer  and  employee.  Sympathy  with  the 
staff — why,  look  how  it  would  clear  away  the  cobwebs! 
It  would  not  only  increase  a  trader's  business,  but  would 
decrease  the  loss  and  expense,  and  it  would  not  only 
increase  his  own  happiness,  but  his  popularity  with  his 
customers  as  well  as  his  own  staff;  and,  further,  it  would 
enable  a  trader  of  mere  mediocre  ability  to  accomplish 
more  in  his  business  than  a  trader  of  great  brilliance  and 
genius  could  accomplish  without  it.  It  Will  bring  up  a 
mediocre  man  far  in  advance  of  the  talent  of  a  brilliant 
man.  But  I  would  like  continually  to  repeat,  in  what- 
ever I  have  to  say,  that  there  is  no  philanthropy  in  busi- 
ness, and  a  trader  cannot  allow  sympathy  with  his  staff 
to  fill  his  business  with  pensioners  and  inefficients.  No 
matter  how  much  an  employer  may  idealize  as  to  running 
his  business  for  purposes  other  than  mere  money-making, 
he  will  find  he  must  run  his  business  for  money-making 
if  he  wishes  to  make  a  perfect  and  ideal  organization  for 
his  employees  as  well  as  for  the  customers  he  serves. 
He  must  work  on  ideal  conditions  for  all  his  employees 
and  his  customers  if  he  wishes  to  safeguard  the  capital 
he  has  in  the  business — to  build  up  a  solid,  successful, 
money-making  business. 

The  trader  must  so  balance  his  ideals  with  practical 
business  as  to  neglect  neither.  At  an  Agricultural  Cok 
lege  a  discussion  was  taking  place  as  to  what  slopes  of 
land  were  best  suited  to  give  the  biggest  crops,  and  an 
old  farmer,  who  knew  nothing  probably  about  scientific 
methods  of  farming  and  slopes  of  land,  and  so  on,  got 
up  at  the  end  of  the  discussion  and  said  that  in  his  ex- 
perience it  did  not  matter  so  much  about  the  slope  of  the 
land  as  the  slope  of  the  man.  And  so  I  would  say  of 


,e 

' 


CO-OPERATIVE  ASPECT  OF  BUSINESS     133 

every  one  of  us  in  business,  whatever  systems  we  adopt, 
and  Whether  we  are  able  or  unable  to  adopt  some  plan 
of  Profit-sharing  or  Co-Partnership,  far  more  will  de- 
pend upon  our  own  inclinations  and  leanings  towards  our 
ideals  than  any  particular  method  we  may  adopt.  The 
slope  of  a  man  can  make  success  or  failure,  and  it  can 
make  a  mediocre  man  into  a  superman. 

Let  us  examine  into  the  question  of  Co-Partnership  on 
ordinary  lines  of  Profit-Sharing  in  any  business.  There 
are  three  active  partners,  generally  speaking,  in  every 
business.  Whether  we  acknowledge  Co-Partnership  or 
not — whether  we  do  anything  to  recognize  it  or  not,  there 
are  three  partners  joined  together — the  employee,  the 
public,  and  the  proprietor.  Each  of  these  three  partners 
has  within  himself  three  sleeping  partners.  I  will  call  the 
Employees,  the  Public,  and  the  Proprietors  the  active 
partners.  The  three  sleeping  partners  are  Habit,  Inertia, 
and  Imitation. 

One  of  the  hard  business  facts  of  life  that  has  an  im- 
mense power  on  success  is  Habit.  It  is  by  habit  that  we 
think  and  act  most  efficiently.  We  do  very  little  efficient 
thinking  until  we  do  it  by  habit.  If  you  watch  the  child 
first  beginning  to  toddle,  its  footsteps  falter;  but  when 
it  has  learned  to  walk,  and  walks  by  habit,  then  it  becomes 
a  perfect  walker.  Habit  means  that  condition  of  body 
and  mind,  or  both,  which  has  become  established  by 
constant  repetition.  The  successful  trader  is  the  man 
who  has  acquired  the  best  habits  for  his  own  particular 
business,  and  that  is  all  that  success  means.  Mediocrity, 
by  constant  repetition,  can  surpass  brilliancy  that  has  not 
acquired  habits  by  constant  repetition.  We  have  had  that 
experience,  each  of  us,  in  our  schooldays.  We  saw  the 
less  brilliant  scholar,  by  constantly  repeating  and  learning 
his  lesson,  able  to  pass  examinations  and  take  prizes  that 
a  more  brilliant  scholar,  who  would  not  go  through  the 


134  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

drudgery  of  repetition,  failed  to  secure.  The  best  way 
to  acquire  good  habits  is  to  make  the  mind  lead  off  in  the 
right  direction,  and  the  best  business  habit  to  be  acquired 
first  is  system,  a  good  system  which  leads  to  success. 
Success  does  not  depend  on  the  head  of  the  business,  the 
captain  of  the  ship,  being  on  the  bridge  all  the  time.  With 
system,  a  man  could  multiply  his  powers  a  hundred-fold. 
A  man  with  the  aid  of  system  can  enable  his  shop  as- 
sistants to  get  through  ten  times  the  work  that  they  are 
capable  of  without  system.  Compare  the  shop  or  any 
business  where  no  system  prevails,  where  the  master  has 
no  daily  or  hourly  programme  and  where  all  is  confusion, 
with  the  shop  where  system  and  order  prevail,  and  you 
will  at  once  see  the  difference.  So  that  habit  in  business 
means,  first  of  all,  acquiring  system. 

The  second  of  these  sleeping  partners  is  Inertia.  In 
acquiring  habits  we  have  to  overcome  Inertia.  You  see 
it  when  a  horse  is  drawing  a  load.  It  takes  many  times 
the  strain  to  start  the  movement,  to  overcome  Inertia, 
that  it  does  to  maintain  the  movement ;  and  that  is  equally 
true  of  the  effort  to  stop  the  movement.  You  can't  stop 
an  express  train  in  a  moment  any  more  than  you  can 
start  it  off  at  full  speed.  This  principle  applies  equally, 
or  more,  to  the  beginning  of  new  habits  and  to  the  stop- 
ping of  old  habits.  The  strong,  progressive  habit  cannot 
at  once  overcome  the  Inertia  of  old  habits.  It  is  actually 
easier  for  some  to  do  their  work  in  the  hardest  and  most 
difficult  way  possible,  when  that  way  is  an  acquired  habit, 
than  it  is  to  change  to  new  and  easier  methods.  Now,  this 
Inertia  of  old  habits  is  the  sole  reason  why  young  men 
get  ahead  of  the  older  ones  in  every  and  any  business. 
This  fact  about  Inertia  teaches  us,  as  business  men,  that 
improvement  in  our  business  involving  radical  changes 
should  not  be  made  too  suddenly,  just  as  you  would  not 
turn  a  corner  at  top  speed  in  a  motor-car.  Were  we 


CO-OPERATIVE  ASPECT  OF  BUSINESS     135 

considering  the  introduction  of  Co-Partnership,  the 
greatest  radical  change  we  can  make  in  our  business,  it 
behooves  us  to  bear  in  mind  this  principle  of  Inertia.  It 
is  an  element  in  the  minds  of  our  staff  and  in  our  own 
minds. 

In  overcoming  Inertia  we  have  the  help  of  our  third 
sleeping  partner,  Imitation.  We  all  love  to  imitate  what 
we  see.  If  we  wish  to  adopt  Co-Partnership,  our  inclina- 
tion is  guided  by  our  love  of  imitation,  which  helps  us  to 
overcome  Inertia.  A  going  concern  has  a  goodwill. 
This  goodwill  is  due  to  the  effect  of  the  increase  in  the 
volume  of  profits,  proving  that  business  is  founded  on 
right  habits  and  on  the  firm  basis  of  repetition  and  on 
the  overthrow  of  Inertia.  Before  I  pass  to  the  active 
partners,  let  me  just  recapitulate  these  three  sleeping 
partners.  Habits,  rightly  founded,  make  for  progress. 
Inertia  has  to  be  overcome,  but,  at  the  same  time,  it  does 
lend  itself  to  stability.  Imitation  helps  us  to  overcome 
Inertia,  and  Inertia  is  a  natural  tendency  to  continue 
without  change.  The  only  way  to  build  a  business  and 
train  a  staff  is  to  bear  in  mind  these  three  principles. 
If  we  overlooked  them  we  should  get  discouraged  and 
give  up  our  task,  whatever  we  had  set  ourselves  to  do. 

May  I  give  you  an  instance  of  widespread  Inertia  we 
had  through  the  country  a  few  years  ago?  You  re- 
member when  Willett  introduced  his  Daylight  Saving 
Bill  he  was  ridiculed  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  at 
once  came  against  that  huge  mass  of  Inertia  which  could 
not  be  moved.  But,  in  a  little  while,  we  began  to  think 
about  it,  and,  although  Willett  did  not  live  to  see  his 
plan  adopted,  the  Inertia  was  overcome,  and  who,  to- 
day, would  go  back  to  the  old-time  calendar  in  the 
summer  months?  I  mention  that  because  it  is  such  a 
recent  and  such  a  good  illustration  of  the  point  I  wish 
to  bring  out — that,  in  this  huge  problem  of  Co-Partner- 


136  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

ship,  we  have  the  same  difficulty  to  face,  and  we  must 
bear  it  in  mind  both  for  our  own  guidance  and  in  the 
guidance  of  our  staff,  and  in  regard  to  the  public  we 
serve. 

Now,  let  us  consider  the  three  active  partners :  the  Em- 
ployee, the  Public,  and  the  Proprietor.  No  proprietor, 
at  any  time,  was  independent  of  those  about  him,  and  he 
is  more  dependent  upon  them  to-day  than  ever.  He  can- 
not succeed  alone.  Employers  and  employees  must  work 
together  as  partners  with  the  public.  Employers  must 
recognize  that  their  employees  are  an  asset  to  the  busi- 
ness. Hitherto,  employers  have  simply  looked  upon  the 
assistant  as  a  liability  that  had  to  be  cleared  every  week 
at  pay-day.  An  enthusiastic  Co-Partnership  employer,  in 
a  distributive  business,  has  stated  that  his  employees,  since 
they  had  been  made  Co-Partners,  have  reduced  his 
changes  in  his  staff,  increased  the  permanency  of  his  staff 
by  35  per  cent.,  and  their  efficiency  by  over  50  per  cent. 
Every  employer  in  a  retail  business  knows  that  his  point 
of  contact  with  his  customers  depends  on  his  staff.  The 
nearer  he  can  bring  his  staff  to  himself  in  their  interest 
in  and  enthusiasm  for  the  business,  the  more  successful 
is  his  business  likely  to  be.  In  fact,  employers  and  em- 
ployed are  like  the  strands  in  a  rope.  Spun  into  a  cable, 
they  can  bear  great  strain,  but  unwound  and  unravelled 
they  can  bear  none. 

Now,  we  are  told  that  a  house  divided  against  itself 
cannot  stand,  but  modern  business  goes  further  than  that. 
The  position  to-day  in  business  is  that  a  house  must  have 
unity  of  aim  and  purpose,  and  enthusiasm  and  loyalty; 
otherwise  it  cannot  stand.  As  an  illustration  of  enormous 
power  running  to  waste,  take  the  Falls  of  Niagara. 
There  is  a  similar  enormous  waste  of  energy  when  em- 
ployees are  outside  the  reach  of  a  Co-Partnership,  either 
in  profit-sharing  or  in  sympathy,  in  kind  acts  and  con- 


CO-OPERATIVE  ASPECT  OF  BUSINESS     137 

sideration.  Hundreds  of  millions  of  horse-power  are 
running  to  waste  at  Niagara.  A  few  of  them  have  been 
chained  up,  and  light  up  Buffalo  and  other  cities,  and 
drive  many  industries.  But  only  the  mere  fringe  of  the 
power  has  been  utilized,  and  I  venture  to  say  that,  in  most 
businesses,  from  50  per  cent,  upwards  of  the  ability  of 
the  staff  is  never  developed  at  all.  The  employer  must 
make  the  employee  feel  that  he  is  his  best  friend,  and 
that  he  is  an  inspiration  to  him ;  that  he  is  the  employees' 
instructor,  adviser,  and  helper.  All  this  means  confi- 
dence, trust,  and  leads  up  to  Co-Partnership. 

There  is  a  subtle  influence,  an  atmosphere  that  ema- 
nates from  the  employer,  and  many  a  man  in  business  has 
strangled  the  spirit  of  his  employees  by  his  cold,  fault- 
finding methods.  It  is  easy  to  judge  the  character  and 
type  of  the  employer  by  studying  the  character  and 
type  of  employee  working  under  him.  If  the  employer  is 
morose  and  gloomy,  how  can  you  expect  his  employees  to 
be  bright  and  cheerful  with  the  customers  in  the  shop? 
Employers  are  learning  more  and  more  the  value  of 
creating  a  cheerful  atmosphere  in  their  business,  equally 
with  a  cheerful,  bright,  newly  decorated  interior  of  their 
business  premises.  The  two  go  together.  None  of  us, 
I  venture  to  say,  would  to-day  consider  it  businesslike  to 
have  the  interior  of  our  business  premises  slovenly,  neg- 
lected, dirty,  and  requiring  beautifying.  We  must  be 
determined  that  the  minds  of  our  employees  are  just  as 
free  from  cobwebs,  and  as  bright,  cheerful,  and  happy,  if 
they  are  to  be  attractive  to  the  customers  who  come  into 
our  shop.  If  one  were  to  sow  nettles  and  thistles,  one 
would  never  expect  to  find  a  harvest  of  perfumed  roses, 
sweet  and  fragrant;  and  if  we  sow  morose  words  amongst 
our  staff,  they  will  reach,  through  our  staff,  to  our  cus- 
tomers, and  drive  them  away.  We  none  of  us  can  do 
our  best  work  under  any  other  conditions  than  when  we 


138  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

are  at  our  happiest.  It  is,  remember,  the  warm  sun  that 
causes  the  buds  to  open  and  give  forth  their  perfume. 
You  know  what  George  Macdonald  said :  "If  I  can  put 
gladness  into  the  heart  of  any  man  or  woman,  I  shall 
feel  I  have  worked  with  God." 

If  Co-Partnership  were  merely  a  matter  of  money- 
motive — a  money  stimulus — without  the  putting  of  glad- 
ness and  happiness  into  the  hearts  of  the  staff,  then,  I  say, 
Co- Partner  ship  would  be  a  gloomy  failure.  The  em- 
ployee has  a  right  to  happiness  and  freedom  from 
anxiety.  Remember,  that  whatever  attitude  is  adopted 
towards  the  staff  will  react  upon  the  employer  himself, 
as  well  as  on  his  business.  We  must  begin  to  realize 
the  fact  that  a  large  part  of  the  employee's  ability  is  never 
awakened  because  it  has  never  been  energized  or  utilized. 
We  all  of  us  know  those  who  have  been  in  business  with 
us  at  various  times  and  whom  we  considered  of  no  special 
merit  as  long  as  they  were  our  assistants,  but  who  have 
developed  by  leaps  and  bounds  when  they  have  got  into 
business  for  themselves.  Why  could  not  we  develop  these 
latent  powers? 

Now,  let  us  consider  the  second  partner  in  business — 
the  Public.  Many  think  the  only  use  of  the  public  is  to 
make  profits  out  of  them.  You  know  the  man  who  was 
boasting  of  his  profits  during  the  war  in  the  smoke-room 
of  his  club.  He  said,  "  You  know,  I  have  made  it  all  by 
sheer,  downright  pluck — every  penny  of  it."  The  wor- 
ried listener :  "  And  whom  did  you  pluck  ?  "  Many  a  man 
of  business  thinks  price  is  the  only  element  of  success. 
There  are  dozens  of  reasons  for  success  besides  prices. 
Customers  will  go  past  one  shop  to  another,  because  gra- 
cious courtesy,  civility,  efforts  to  please,  reliability  on 
recommendations  of  quality,  all  count  for  far  more  than 
price  cutting.  Many  customers  would  rather  trust  the 
trader's  recommendation  than  their  own  power  of  selec- 


CO-OPERATIVE  ASPECT  OF  BUSINESS     139 

tion.  Remember,  the  satisfied  customer  not  only  comes 
himself  but  sends  others.  The  assistant  must  be  trained 
in  habits  of  courtesy  to  the  public.  A  multiple  shopman 
spent  a  great  deal  of  money  in  sending  telegrams  to  every 
branch  manager  at  each  of  his  shops  throughout  the 
United  Kingdom :  "  Did  you  say  '  Thank  you/  to  every 
customer  you  served  to-day?  "  He  sent  those  telegrams 
from  time  to  time  until  he  had  burnt  the  importance  of 
this  fact  into  their  minds.  He  spent  over  £1,000  on 
those  telegrams,  merely  asking  that  question.  He  says  it 
was  the  best  £  1,000  investment  he  ever  made  in  his  life. 

There  are  hundreds  of  men  who  would  scorn  to  tell 
a  lie  who  would  let  their  goods  lie  for  them.  They  do 
not  hesitate  to  sell  shoddy,  second-rate  goods.  None  of 
them  would  dream  of  cheating  or  lying.  They  are  con- 
scientiously, and  not  hypocritically,  above  it.  There  is 
no  hypocrisy;  but  in  building  up  a  business,  if  we  are 
dealing  in  anything  other  than  the  quality  that  customers 
have  a  right  to  expect  from  the  class  of  trade  we  do, 
then  we  are,  in  our  business,  living  a  lie.  The  grandest 
advertisement  ever  written  is  poor  compared  with  the 
reputation  for  keeping  high-class  goods  and  giving  a 
true  description  of  them. 

You  know  the  story  of  the  young  man  who  started  a 
fish  shop,  and  fitted  it  up  with  marble  slabs,  and  tiles 
was  his  name  on  the  sign,  and  then,  "  Fresh  Fish  Sold 
on  the  wall ;  then  he  wrote  a  sign  and  put  it  up.  There 
Here."  A  friend  came  along  and  admired  the  shop,  and, 
after  looking  all  round  said,  "  Look  at  your  sign." 
"What's  the  matter?"  he  asked.  "Why  do  you  say 
1  Fresh  Fish  Sold  Here?'  You  do  not  need  to  say 
'  here.'  You  are  not  selling  them  across  the  way."  So 
the  young  man  painted  the  word  "  Here  "  out,  and  the 
sign  read  "Fresh  Fish  Sold."  Another  friend  came 
and  admired  the  marble  slabs  and  the  tiles.  When  he 


140  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

had  admired  everything  he  said,  "  But  look  at  your 
sign.  Everybody  will  know  your  fish  is  fresh."  He 
got  his  paint  pot  and  painted  out  the  word  "  Fresh."  So 
now  the  sign  read,  "  Fish  Sold."  Another  friend  came, 
and  when  he  had  admired  the  shop  and  the  slabs  and 
tiles,  he,  too,  said,  "  Look  at  your  sign.  Why  say  '  Sold  '  ? 
Nobody  will  think  you  are  giving  the  fish  away."  So  he 
took  out  that  word  also,  and  now  the  sign  simply  read, 
"  So-and-so,  Fish."  Still  another  friend  came,  and  when 
he  had  looked  all  around  he  said,  "  Look  at  your  sign." 
"  What's  the  matter  with  the  sign  yet?  "  asked  the  young 
man.  "Why  say  'Fish'?"  was  the  reply;  "I  could 
smell  fish  as  soon  as  I  turned  the  corner." 

There  is  a  motto  that  runs,  "  The  deceiver  only  de- 
ceives himself."  If  any  of  us  think  that  we  can  make  a 
second-rate  quality  of  goods  appear  equal  to  the  first- 
rate  quality,  we  are  only  deceiving  ourselves.  Deceit  is 
a  boomerang,  and  if  we  put  ourselves  in  our  customers' 
place,  we  shall  realize  the  whole  position.  Nothing  will 
so  quickly  forfeit  confidence  as  disappointment  over  qual- 
ity. People  do  not  like  to  deal  with  traders  they  have 
always  to  be  watching.  Millions  upon  millions  of  pounds 
sterling  of  turnover  are  done  entirely  and  solely  on  the 
character  and  reputation  of  traders  for  straightforward- 
ness. 

Well,  now,  what  about  the  third  partner,  the  Trader 
himself?  Many  men  in  business  are  unable  to  trust 
those  associated  with  them  with  any  power  or  authority 
whatever.  These  men  can  only  think  in  inches,  and  have 
only  an  eye  to  petty  cash  items,  and  as  long  as  they  them- 
selves can  oversee  everything  and  attend  to  all  the  de- 
tails themselves,  they  get  along  all  right,  but  the  mo- 
ment they  have  to  delegate  to  others,  they  go  all  to  pieces. 
That  is  because  they  do  not  know  how  to  select  their  staff, 
and  consequently  can  never  trust  them.  With  these  men, 


CO-OPERATIVE  ASPECT  OF  BUSINESS     141 

every  employee  who  does  not  exactly  please  them  at  the 
moment  is  cleared  out.  If  the  employee  were  to  express 
an  opinion  upon  the  business,  or  make  suggestions,  he 
would  be  dismissed.  With  such  an  employer,  the  em- 
ployee must  not  move  hand  or  foot  without  the  em- 
ployer's approval.  Such  traders  will  not  recognize  the 
fact  that  no  man  can  attend  to  all  the  details  of  his  own 
business,  and  know  every  point  about  even  his  own  one 
business. 

Now,  the  trader,  to  be  successful,  must  begin  right 
away  by  trusting  his  staff,  and  until  he  can  trust  them — 
until  he  has  trained  and  educated  them  so  that  he  knows, 
whether  he  is  there  or  not,  that  his  business  is  going 
on  as  he  would  wish  it,  and  that  his  customers  are  being 
courteously  attended  to,  he  is  not  ripe  for  the  considera- 
tion of  Co-Partnership,  the  spirit  of  which  comes  a  long 
way  after  that  stage.  If  we  are  suspicious  and  distrustful 
of  our  staff,  then  our  staff  become  suspicious  and  distrust- 
ful of  us,  for  distrust  and  suspicion  breed  distrust  and 
suspicion.  We  have  to  encourage  our  staff.  No  employee 
can  be  at  his  or  her  best  if  always  conscious  that  some  one 
is  watching  in  a  fault-finding  attitude  of  mind.  The 
interest  of  the  employee  must  be  awakened;  it  cannot  be 
forced. 

There  is  no  doubt  we  all  make  errors  in  business :  buy 
at  the  wrong  time,  and  fail  to  sell  at  the  right  time ;  and  I 
always  consider  that  the  business  man  is  more  than  a 
hero,  braver  than  any  man  in  the  trenches,  who  dare 
freely  acknowledge  openly  before  his  staff  that  he  has 
made  a  mistake,  and  applies  the  ink  eraser  to  his  own 
mistakes  rather  than  continue  them.  This  is  the  state 
of  mind  we  have  got  to  cultivate,  and  once  it  has  been 
cultivated  and  become  a  habit,  there  is  nothing  that  will 
place  an  employer  on  a  higher  pedestal  with  his  employee. 
It  sounds  a  paradox  to  say  our  very  mistakes  and  fail- 


142  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

ings  would  raise  us  with  our  employees  and,  literally,  it 
would  not  be  so.  The  man  who  made  three  mistakes  in 
five  actions  would  never  win  the  esteem  and  respect  of 
his  employee;  but,  equally,  the  employer  who  claimed  to 
be  able  to  do  right  all  five  times,  and  never  acknowledged 
that  now  and  then  even  he  might  make  a  mistake,  as  well 
as  his  staff,  would,  fail  to  win  the  esteem  and  real  support 
of  his  staff. 

Now,  the  most  dangerous  period  in  the  business  career 
of  any  tradesman  is  the  time  when  he  begins  to  feel  sure 
of  his  position.  Over-confidence  in  any  one  of  us  is  the 
first  sign  of  decay,  and  wie  all  of  us  do  our  best  work 
when  we  are  struggling  for  position.  When  a  man  says 
to  himself,  "  Now,  I  can  take  things  easier;  I  hold  the 
field;  I  am  head  and  shoulders  over  all  my  competitors, 
and  I  can  afford  to  breathe  more  freely  " — then  he  is  in 
the  greatest  danger  of  his  life.  It  is  dangerous  to  run 
a  business  on  its  past  reputation,  for  there  are  too  many 
others  pushing  forward  for  supremacy  all  the  time.  It  is 
astonishing  how  soon  the  best  business  goes  to  pieces 
when  the  proprietor  begins  to  take  it  easy.  Managing 
a  business  is  like  rolling  a  stone  up  a  hill ;  take  one's  hands 
off,  and  down  the  stone  rolls  to  the  bottom  again. 

Now,  I  want  just  to  come  to  the  point  that  this  fact 
brings  us  up  to.  I  am  sure  you  will  agree  with  what  I 
have  said  about  the  necessity  of  constant  vigilance  in 
business.  If  this  were  the  final  word  in  business,  the 
prospect  for  our  old  age  would  be  gloomy  indeed.  Busi- 
ness would  mean  hard  labour  for  life  and  the  agony  of 
seeing  our  business  fade  away  in  our  old  age.  But  if  we 
take  time  by  the  forelock,  if  those  bright  young  fellows 
who  pass  through  our  hands  at  various  stages  of  our 
career  are  attracted  to  us  by  sympathy,  are  trained  and 
developed  in  our  business  by  our  watchful  care,  are  made 
partners  in  our  business  at  the  particular  moment  when 


CO-OPERATIVE  ASPECT  OF  BUSINESS     143 

they  have  proved  themselves  worthy  of  it  and  of  our 
confidence,  then,  as  our  own  physical  powers  grow  less 
their  physical  strength  is  growing  greater,  and  the  fair 
and  just  treatment  we  have  dealt  out  to  them  wins  their 
loyalty  and  support;  for  all  through  their  life  they  are 
able  to  say  they  could  never  have  done  better  under  any 
circumstances  whatever,  for  even  if  they  went  away  from 
the  business  in  which  they  were  trained  and  developed 
to  start  a  business  of  their  own,  the  increased  competi- 
tion, the  heavy  responsibilities,  the  difficulties  for  capi- 
tal, would  not  make  life  so  well  worth  living  for  them  as 
a  partnership  in  the  firm  they  were  with,  a  share  in  the 
profits  that  were  made,  and  the  opportunity  to  invest  their 
money  in  the  business  each  succeeding  year.  On  this 
system  the  employer,  as  I  have  mentioned,  need  not  be 
always  at  the  helm.  He  can  take  his  reasonable  relief 
as  years  get  on,  and  when,  finally,  it  comes  to  the  Indian 
summer  of  his  life,  as  the  sun  is  declining,  it  will  leave  a 
golden  glow  through  the  skies;  he  will  be  surrounded  by 
those  whom  he  has  trained  and  developed  to  look  upon 
him  more  as  a  father  than  an  employer.  Whether  they 
are  single  units,  or  tens,  or  hundreds,  or  thousands,  how- 
ever many  they  may  be,  their  willing  hands  will  go  forth 
to  build  up  the  business.  The  business  will  become  more 
than  a  mere  machine  to  them.  It  will  become  a  living 
being  to  be  cared  for  and  tended  and  cultivated  as  lovingly 
by  them  as  ever  by  their  master  in  his  own  young  days. 
And  so  we  can  see  our  business  extend  and  grow,  and  if 
there  were  nothing  else  in  Co-Partnership  than  the  relief 
it  will  give  to  a  man  when  his  physical  strength  declines, 
I  say  that  argument  alone — apart  from  the  increased 
prosperity  which  Co-Partnership,  in  the  experience  of 
those  who  have  adopted  it,  brings;  apart  from  the  fact 
that  when  you  have  interested  your  staff  with  you  in  the 
profits  you  have  applied  the  most  just,  fair,  and  power- 


144  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

ful  stimulus  you  can  to  their  efforts — apart  altogether 
from  all  that,  this  one  factor  alone  ought  to  win  it  ad- 
herence. 

Now,  as  to  the  particular  form  of  Co-Partner  ship  to 
be  adopted.  It  is  utterly  impossible  for  any  man  to 
decide  this  question  other  than  the  man  who  is  going  to 
apply  it.  As  I  have  said,  it  may  not  be  possible  to  share 
profits  at  ali,  or  to  have  a  partner.  There  are  many  occu- 
pations, such  as  domestic  service,  in  which  it  is  quite  im- 
possible; but  in  one  form  or  another,  either  by  kind  ac- 
tions and  sympathy,  consideration  in  sickness,  and  the 
joy  of  happiness  in  health,  the  payment  of  high  wages, 
or  the  sharing  of  profits,  a  human  bond  of  sympathy  must 
go  out  from  the  head  of  the  business,  from  the  proprietor, 
right  down  to  the  youngest  office  boy,  and,  that  secured, 
I  do  not  care  whether  you  call  it  Co-Partnership,  Profit- 
Sharing,  or  what  .you  call  it,  you  have  introduced  into 
business  the  human  element,  which  will  not  only  make  the 
staff  working  for  you  happy,  but  will  make  yourself 
happy.  It  is  true  that  a  business  carried  on  for  mere 
money-grabbing  objects,  as  I  ventured  to  say  at  the  begin- 
ning, will,  in  my  opinion,  fail  to  realize  even  the  narrow 
ideal  of  making  money;  but  carried  on  upon  the  broad 
lines  of  recognition  of  equal  rights  to  a  share  of  the  fruits 
of  the  industry  of  every  one  connected  with  the  business, 
whoever  they  may  be,  then  the  harvest  is  greater  as  it  is 
shared  with  others.  Then,  as  the  sunset  comes  along  in  the 
skies,  the  owner,  instead  of  shutting  down  in  dark  weari- 
ness with  the  knowledge  that  the  business  must  pass  into 
the  hands  of  strangers  or  be  closed  entirely,  and  that  the 
physical  strength  of  the  proprietor  is  unable  to  keep  up 
with  the  energetic  action  of  younger  men,  will  see  it 
stronger  than  ever,  and  have  in  it  an  ever-increasing 
pride. 


IX 

HEALTH  AND  HOUSING 

THE  subject  "  Land  for  Houses  "  is  one  the  importance 
of  which  requires  no  words  of  mine  to  commend  itself 
to  your  earnest  consideration.  The  few  thoughts  I  ven- 
ture to  place  before  you  on  this  great  subject  are  very 
crude  and  incomplete,  and,  consequently,  are  no  doubt 
open  to  much  adverse  criticism.  But,  happily,  honest 
criticism  can  only  lead  in  one  direction,  that  of  further 
calling  attention  to  the  question  of  housing  the  people, 
with  a  view  to  whatever  may  be  the  best  means  of 
remedying  the  defects  of  our  present  system;  a  system 
under  which  the  housing  of  the  people  has  become  a 
scandal  and  disgrace,  as  well  as  a  danger  to  the  physical 
and  moral  well-being  of  the  nation.  It  is  impossible  for 
us  to  visit  any  of  our  thickly  populated  centres  without 
feeling  that,  however  great  strides  we  have  made  in  po- 
litical economy  during  the  present  century,  as  far  as 
housing  of  the  people  is  concerned  we  are  probably  in 
as  bad  a  condition  to-day  as  at  any  period  of  our  history  ; 
and  this  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  as  far  back  as 
1851  two  Acts  for  dealing  with  this  question  were  passed 
by  Parliament,  and  also  that  since  then,  at  constantly 
recurring  intervals,  right  down  to  the  Act  of  1890,  suc- 
ceeding Parliaments  have  repeatedly  attempted  to  deal 
with  this  subject.  Except  in  the  way  of  police  control, 
we  are  bound  to  admit  that  none  of  these  Acts  have 
really  been  effective  in  dealing  with  the  evils  they  were 
intended  to  remedy. 

145 


146  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

Before  I  proceed  further,  allow  me  to  acknowledge  the 
assistance  I  have  had  in  preparing  this  paper  from  read- 
ing the  book  of  Mr.  Bowmaker  on  Housing  of  the  Work- 
ing Classes,  also  the  works  by  Mr.  Charles  Booth  on  the 
Labour  and  Life  of  the  People,  and  various  other  writ- 
ers. All  who  have  carefully  read  the  works  of  the  lead- 
ing writers  on  this  subject  must  be  impressed  with  the 
extreme  gravity  of  the  present  situation,  and  the  more 
one  inquires  into  the  question  of  the  housing  of  the  peo- 
ple, the  more  one  is  impressed  with  two  things — the 
enormous  amount  of  work  required  to  be  done,  and  the 
great  importance  that  it  should  be  done  with  as  little 
delay  as  possible.  As  to  the  amount  of  work  to  be  done, 
it  is  not  only  the  grosser  forms  of  overcrowding — the 
slums  and  alleys — that  require  to  be  dealt  with,  but  al- 
most of  equal  importance  is  the  question  of  the  crowding 
of  houses  side  by  side  with  only  12  feet  or  15  feet  front- 
age, small  yards,  and  6  or  8  feet  back  roads.  It  is  said 
that  "  God  made  the  country,  and  man  made  the  towns." 
But  there  can  be  no  reason  why  man  should  not  make 
towns  livable  and  healthy,  and  if  towns  are  made  livable 
and  healthy  they  will  be  just  as  much  subject  to  the 
beneficent  influence  of  bright  sunshine,  fresh  air,  flowers, 
and  plants,  as  the  country.  But  just  as  surely  as  the 
country  is  made  by  God,  so  surely  is  it  that  man  is  made 
also  by  the  same  Creator — who  constituted  him  a  social 
being,  loving  the  fellowship  of  his  fellow-man,  and  there- 
fore loving  to  live  in  towns  and  cities,  where  he  finds  the 
greatest  scope  for  his  social  instincts,  and  where  his 
genius  and  abilities  have  the  fullest  opportunities  for 
development.  Therefore,  it  is  an  established  fact,  and 
one  that  all  past  history  of  the  human  race  confirms, 
that  men  prefer  city  life  to  country  life;  hence  the  great 
importance  to  the  well-being  of  the  race  that  city  life  be 
carried  on  under  proper  conditions  as  to  housing,  with 


HEALTH  AND  HOUSING  147 

a  view  to  securing  surroundings  the  most  favourable  to 
health.  It  is  for  the  citizens  themselves  as  a  body  to 
control  this  matter  through  their  municipal  organizations. 
It  must  not  be  left  to  individuals,  as  in  the  past. 

We  are  too  apt  in  this  country  to  leave  good  work  for 
the  benefit  of  one's  fellow-men  to  the  care  of  philan- 
thropists, but  in  this  instance,  owing  to  the  very  stu- 
pendous character  of  the  question  of  housing  of  the  peo- 
ple, philanthropists  have  practically  been  unable  to  effect 
anything,  notwithstanding  the  large  sum  of  money  de- 
voted by  men  of  the  stamp  of  Mr.  Peabody,  and  others 
too  numerous  to  mention.  I  venture  to  submit  that  it  is 
not  a  matter  to  be  dealt  with  by  philanthropists  at  all. 
Philanthropy  is  only  another  name  for  charity,  and  char- 
ity can  only  mean  pauperism.  The  housing  of  the  people 
is  not  in  any  way  connected  with  pauperism  nor  charity, 
and  does  not  come  within  the  scope  of  philanthropists. 

We  have  experienced  during  the  last  forty  or  fifty  years 
that  mere  Acts  of  Parliament  can  effect  very  little.  In 
what  direction,  then,  must  we  look  for  help  to  come? 
Before  we  can  answer  this  question,  it  would  be,  perhaps, 
of  advantage  for  us  to  inquire  into  the  extent  to  which 
the  grosser  forms  of  overcrowding  exist,  and  what  are 
the  effects  on  health  and  character  of  overcrowding. 
As  to  the  extent  of  overcrowding,  many  who  have  not 
thought  deeply  on  the  subject  would  be  surprised  to  hear 
that  it  exists  to  just  as  great  an  extent  in  villages  as  in 
large  towns,  and  in  the  very  smallest  hamlets,  propor- 
tionately, to  as  large  an  extent  as  in  London;  that  it 
exists  in  new  towns  and  cities  like  Birkenhead,  as  well 
as  in  the  oldest  city  in  the  United  Kingdom.  We  find 
by  the  last  census  returns  that  throughout  the  whole  of 
England  and  Wales,  of  the  number  of  rooms  composing 
tenement  houses,  52  per  cent,  of  the  separate  tenements 
included  four  rooms  or  less,  of  which  about  5  per  cent. 


148  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

were  of  one  room  only,  n  per  cent,  of  two  rooms,  12 
per  cent,  of  three  rooms,  and  24  per  cent,  of  four  rooms. 
Taking  London  separately,  we  find  that,  instead  of  52 
per  cent,  as  in  the  case  of  England  and  Wales,  tenements 
of  four  rooms  and  under  are  67  per  cent.,  and  that  the 
single-room  tenements  in  London  amount  to  18  per  cent, 
as  compared  with  the  5  per  cent,  for  the  whole  country. 
Now,  if  we  consider  for  one  moment  the  life  a  family 
must  lead  who  have  only  one  room  in  which  to  eat,  to 
sleep,  and  to  live,  we  cannot  wonder  at  the  social  degra- 
dation produced  in  those  who  live  under  these  conditions ; 
and  yet,  the  rents  paid  for  these  single  rooms  are  suffi- 
cient to  pay  a  reasonable  return  on  the  capital  required, 
if  properly  expended,  to  provide  suitable  accommodation. 
In  the  worst  parts  of  Liverpool  at  the  present  day  1,000 
people  are  huddled  on  the  space  of  one  acre.  At  an  in- 
quest in  Spitalfields,  London,  concerning  the  death  of  a 
child  four  months  old,  the  evidence  showed  that  the  child, 
with  six  other  children  and  its  parents,  had  lived  in  a 
room  12  feet  by  12  feet,  for  which  43.  6d.  a  week  rent 
was  paid.  Just  fancy  nine  human  beings  living  under 
such  conditions  as  these!  All  such  places  must  prove 
very  hotbeds  of  vice  and  misery.  I  could  give  thousands 
of  other  examples  taken  from  both  town,  city,  and  coun- 
try, but  I  will  give  one  instance  more  only  to  prove  that 
overcrowding  is  just  as  prevalent  in  country  districts  as 
in  towns.  In  a  village,  not  many  miles  from  here,  I  was 
asked  by  a  widow,  shortly  after  the  property  came  into 
my  possession,  to  provide  another  bedroom  to  her  cot- 
tage. On  my  asking  why,  she  replied  because  her  son 
was  growing  up,  and  there  was  only  one  room  for  her- 
self and  him  to  sleep  in.  I  imagined,  of  course,  that  he 
'would  be  a  little  boy,  say  eight  or  nine  years  of  age.  I 
asked  his  age,  and  found  it  was  nearly  twenty.  This 
caused  me  to  make  further  inquiries,  which  revealed  the 


HEALTH  AND  HOUSING  149 

fact  that  this  was  only  a  specimen  of  the  conditions  un- 
der which  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  village  were 
living.  We  drive  or  walk  past  ivy-clad  cottages  in  the 
country,  admire  their  beauty,  and  the  thought  that  there 
can  be  fully-grown  men  and  women,  not  always  even 
brothers  and  sisters,  forced  to  occupy  the  same  bedroom 
from  the  lack  of  proper  housing  accommodation  never 
presents  itself  to  us.  The  words  used  by  the  late  Lord 
Shaftesbury  before  the  Royal  Commission  appointed  to 
inquire  into  the  subject  of  overcrowding  are  just  as  true 
to-day  as  they  were  at  the  time  they  were  uttered.  Lord 
Shaftesbury  then  declared  that,  however  great  had  been 
the  improvement  in  the  condition  of  the  poor  in  other  re- 
spects, overcrowding  had  become  more  serious  than  ever 
it  was  before.  Evidence  produced  before  various  Royal 
Commissions  who  have  examined  witnesses  on  the  sub- 
ject all  proves  that  an  enormous  proportion  of  our  vil- 
lage populations  know  no  other  home  than  such  as  pro- 
vide one  room  for  the  whole  family  to  live  in,  and  an- 
other room  for  the  whole  family  to  sleep  in. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  occupy  your  time  in 
proving  further  that  overcrowding  does  exist.  You 
know  it  exists.  I  know  it  exists,  we  all  know  it  exists, 
apart  from  Government  returns  and  population  statistics 
or  Blue-books.  We  know  it  because  we  see  it,  and  read 
about  it  in  the  police  reports  every  day  of  our  lives. 
Such,  then,  being  admitted  to  be  the  state  of  affairs, 
let  us  next  inquire  what  are  the  results  which  overcrowd- 
ing produces.  There  is  one  result  which  it  certainly 
ought  not  to  produce  in  ourselves,  and  that  is  indiffer- 
ence on  our  part  to  the  nameless  misery  and  brutaliza- 
tion  which  overcrowding  generates  in  the  poor.  And 
sometimes  one  is  inclined  to  think  that,  whilst  on  all 
hands  we  have  evident  signs  that  the  condition  of  the 
poor  calls  forth  greater  sympathy  to-day  than  ever,  and 


150  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

whilst  we  know  that  in  the  providing  of  hospitals  and 
infirmaries,  in  temperance  work,  religious  and  social 
work,  we  have  not  been  unmindful  of  our  duty,  yet  in  the 
very  question  which  lies  at  the  root  of  the  uplifting  of 
the  people,  and  the  elevation  of  them  to  a  full  enjoyment 
of  all  the  possibilities  of  life,  we  have  grossly  neglected 
our  duty.  In  dealing  with  the  moral  effect  of  over- 
crowding, it  is  not  an  easy  task  to  collect  statistics.  We 
know  that  overcrowding  and  degradation  go  together, 
but  we  do  not  clearly  see  whether  it  is  the  degraded  who 
prefer  to  herd  together,  or  it  is  the  overcrowding  that 
produces  the  degradation;  but  whatever  our  individual 
views  may  be  on  this  point,  we  shall  all  agree  on  one 
point,  namely,  that  as  to  the  degradation  of  the  children 
there  cannot  be  the  slightest  difference  of  opinion.  Lord 
Shaftesbury,  speaking  of  the  effect  of  overcrowding 
on  children,  describes  it  as  "  totally  destructive  of  all 
benefits  from  education  " ;  and  who  can  wonder  that  this 
is  the  effect  produced?  A  child  that  knows  nothing  of 
God's  earth,  of  green  fields,  or  sparkling  brooks,  of 
breezy  hill  and  springy  heather,  and  whose  mind  is  stored 
with  none  of  the  beauties  of  nature,  but  knows  only  the 
drunkenness  prevalent  in  the  hideous  slum  it  is  forced  to 
live  in,  and  whose  walks  abroad  have  never  extended  be- 
yond the  corner  public-house  and  the  pawnshop,  cannot 
be  benefited  by  education.  Such  children  grow  up  de- 
praved, and  become  a  danger  and  terror  to  the  State; 
wealth-destroyers  instead  of  wealth-producers,  compared 
to  whom  the  South  Sea  Islander,  the  Maori,  or  Zulu 
is  an  educated,  intelligent  citizen. 

That  overcrowding  produces  drunkenness,  vice,  mis- 
ery, and  wretchedness,  we  know,  notwithstanding  we 
cannot  easily  collect  statistics  showing  the  exact  extent 
to  which  the  moral  nature  is  affected  by  overcrowding. 
But  if  we  cannot  get  statistics  with  regard  to  the  effect 


HEALTH  AND  HOUSING  151 

of  overcrowding  on  the  moral  nature,  we  can  with  regard 
to  the  effect  of.  overcrowding  on  health ;  and  in  consider- 
ing this  side  of  the  question,  let  us  not  lose  sight  of  the 
truth  that  a  nation's  health  is  a  nation's  wealth.  The  popu- 
lation of  England  and  Wales  at  the  last  census  was — for 
the  towns,  about  twenty-one  millions;  for  the  rural  dis- 
tricts, about  eight  millions.  Calculating  the  death-rates 
in  the  towns  for  corresponding  age  and  sex,  and  compar- 
ing them  with  the  same  for  the  rural  districts,  we  find 
that  whereas  the  death-rate  for  the  town  is  23.32  per 
thousand,  the  death-rate  in  the  country  is  only  17.62 
per  thousand.  In  other  words,  that  whereas  in  the  towns 
death  on  an  average  would  occur  at  the  age  of  about 
forty-five,  in  the  country  it  would  occur  at  the  age  of 
about  sixty.  But  if  we  look  further  into  these  figures, 
and  subdivide  the  towns,  we  find  that  in  the  congested 
parts  of  cities  the  death-rates  are  double  those  of  the 
suburbs.  In  London  the  death-rate  of  the  outer,  or 
suburban,  districts  is  only  15.4  per  thousand,  as  com- 
pared with  between  30  and  40  per  thousand  in  the  most 
crowded  parts.  That  is  to  say,  that  whilst  a  man  in  the 
crowded  districts  would,  on  an  average,  only  live  to  be, 
say,  about  thirty,  in  the  suburbs  he  would  live  to  be  about 
seventy.  In  Liverpool,  also,  the  death-rate  is  double 
that  of  the  rural  districts  surrounding. 

But  this  bare  statement  of  figures  gives  us  but  a  very 
poor  idea  of  the  loss  to  the  nation  from  overcrowding. 
We  have  to  consider,  in  addition  to  the  early  death  of  the 
victims,  the  years  of  sickness,  poverty,  misery,  and  suf- 
fering that  ill-health  entails  on  them  and  their  families, 
and  the  consequent  loss  of  their  ability  to  earn  sufficient 
money  to  keep  themselves,  thus  laying  a  heavy  burden  on 
the  rates,  and  upon  those  relations  who,  whilst  assisting 
them,  are  already  heavily  overburdened  to  maintain 
themselves.  It  is  estimated  that  in  overcrowded  districts 


152  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

every  workman  loses,  on  an  average,  twenty  days  each 
year  through  ill-health,  say,  on  an  average  of  45.  per 
day,  equal  to  £4.  This  is  not  only  a  loss  to  the  work- 
man and  his  family,  but  to  the  whole  nation.  This  loss 
to  the  workman  is  not  represented  by  the  £4  he  has 
failed  to  earn;  he  has  lost  something  that  he  can  never 
recover.  For  a  rich  man  to  be  a  few  days  away  from 
business  from  ill-health  may,  perhaps,  not  be  a  serious 
consideration.  His  business  in  all  probability  will  not 
suffer.  It  would  be  conducted  by  his  staff,  or  by  his 
partners,  without  interruption;  but  not  so  the  work  of  a 
poor  man.  Therefore,  the  question  of  good  health,  or 
ill-health,  is  of  all  questions  the  most  important  one  to 
the  workers  of  this  country.  Why  overcrowding  should 
have  such  serious  effects  on  health,  and  increase  so  enor- 
mously the  mortality  returns,  is  a  matter  more  for  a 
doctor  to  deal  with  than  myself,  but  when  one  considers 
the  all-importance  of  ventilation  and  free  circulation  of 
air — which  conditions  can  never  be  obtained  where  there 
is  overcrowding — one  sees  one  possible  explanation,  and 
that  probably  not  the  least.  The  importance  of  fresh 
air  and  ventilation  upon  health  is  shown  when  we  ex- 
amine the  effect  of  overcrowding  in  large  cities  as  com- 
pared with  overcrowding  in  villages,  and  the  statistics 
I  have  just  given  you,  showing  the  death-rates  of  the 
two,  prove  that,  as  far  as  the  effects  on  health  are  con- 
cerned, overcrowding  in  rural  districts  is  nothing  like 
so  pernicious  as  overcrowding  in  cities. 

We  have  now  inquired  into  the  extent  of  overcrowding 
and  its  effects.  Let  us  now  see  if  we  can  obtain  any  in- 
formation as  to  the  cause  and  remedy.  I  venture  to  sub- 
mit to  you  that  it  is  not  sufficient  to  say  that  the  cause 
lies  with  the  growth  of  population.  It  may  be  claimed 
that  the  rapid  growth  of  the  population  of  this  country 
has  produced  overcrowding;  but  when  we  see  that  over- 


HEALTH  AND  HOUSING  153 

crowding  exists  just  as  much  in  the  rural  districts  of 
England,  where  the  population  is  decreasing,  as  in  towns 
and  cities  where  population  is  increasing,  we  are  bound 
to  look  deeper  for  the  real  cause,  and  this  we  find  in  the 
difficulty — either  from  one  reason  or  another — in  obtain- 
ing land  upon  which  to  erect  houses  for  accommodating 
the  people.  We  find  that  as  land  becomes  more  valuable, 
houses  formerly  occupied  by  one  family  have  been  ar- 
ranged so  that  each  room  in  that  house  should  accommo- 
date a  family,  and  in  many  cases  even  more  than  one 
family  in  each  room.  As  land  becomes  still  more  valu- 
able, what  were  formerly  the  gardens  of  these  houses 
have  been  built  upon,  thus  producing  slums,  courts,  and 
rookeries.  Every  public  improvement,  such  as  the  dem- 
olition of  old  property,  widening  of  streets,  etc.,  has 
increased  the  overcrowding.  I  venture,  therefore,  to  sub- 
mit to  you  that  one  of  the  principal  causes,  if  not  the 
sole  cause,  of  overcrowding  is  the  difficulty  in  obtaining 
land  at  such  a  price  that  houses  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  working  classes  can  be  erected  thereon,  and  the 
remedy  must,  therefore,  be  to  provide  land  on  such  a 
basis  that  houses  for  the  accommodation  of  the  people 
can  be  built  thereon,  to  let  at  rentals  within  the  means 
of  those  they  are  intended  for. 

This  point  of  view  opens  up  a  very  grave  subject  for 
our  consideration.  It  is  not  my  province  to-night,  how- 
ever, to  go  into  any  consideration  of  land  reform.  The 
question  I  wish  to  go  into  is  solely  that  of  the  providing 
of  land  for  the  erection  of  houses;  and,  in  doing  so,  I 
venture  to  submit  to  you  that  our  municipalities  have 
ample  powers  in  the  existing  law  to  enable  them — if  they 
are  so  minded — to  efficiently  deal  with  this  question. 
The  overcrowding,  as  we  have  seen,  is  at  the  centre.  The 
remedy  for  this  must  be  in  relieving  the  pressure  that 
exists  and  which  forces  the  people  to  live  near  the  centre. 


15*  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

Dispersion  must  be  the  remedy,  but  not  forcible  disper- 
sion. Our  past  experience  has  proved  that  we  have  only 
aggravated  the  evil,  when  our  ideas  of  dispersion  have 
proceeded  no  further  than  the  destruction  of  slums  and 
rookeries.  We  must  make  it  possible  for  the  working 
classes  to  live  at  a  distance  from  the  centre,  otherwise 
all  our  efforts  will  be  in  vain.  Our  efforts,  therefore, 
must  be  directed  to  gradual  dispersion  from  the  centre 
to  the  suburban  districts,  so  that,  by  relieving  the  pres- 
sure at  the  centre,  we  may  lead  not  only  to  the  result  of 
the  total  abolition  of  overcrowding,  but  to  the  lowering 
of  the  rents  to  such  an  extent  at  the  centre  that  those 
who  are  forced  to  remain  there,  near  their  occupation, 
will  at  least  have  the  benefit  of  proper  accommodation 
for  themselves  and  families. 

In  making  it  possible  for  the  working  classes  to  live 
away  from  the  centre,  we  must  consider  two  matters — 
that  of  rent  and  that  of  transport.  Already,  over- 
crowded as  they  are,  we  find  that  88  per  cent,  of  the 
working  classes  pay  more  than  one-fifth  of  their  income 
in  rent;  of  these,  42  per  cent,  pay  about  one-quarter  of 
their  income,  and  46  per  cent,  about  one-third  of  their  in- 
come. We  shall  all  agree  that  rents  should  not  bear  a 
greater  proportion  to  income  than  one-sixth  to  one- 
eighth.  Therefore,  it  is  manifest  that  present  rents 
cannot  be  increased,  they  must  be  reduced.  And,  also, 
that  if  the  working  classes  are  to  be  drawn  from  the 
centre  to  the  suburbs,  the  total  cost  of  rent  and  transport 
at  the  suburbs  must  not  exceed  the  cost  of  rent  alone  at 
the  centre.  I  will  go  further  than  this,  and  say  that 
the  cost  of  rent  and  transport  must  be  less  at  the  suburbs 
than  the  cost  of  rent  alone  at  the  centre,  if  a  tangible  in- 
ducement is  to  be  offered  for  removal.  To  produce  these 
conditions,  we  must  look  to  our  municipalities  to  provide 
the  land.  It  is  impossible  for  working  men  to  become 


HEALTH  AND  HOUSING  155 

owners — to  any  great  extent — of  their  own  houses,  and, 
in  my  opinion,  it  would  not  be  a  good  investment  of 
their  earnings  for  them  to  own  their  own  houses.  The 
shifting  nature  of  their  employment,  and  the  uncertainty 
of  the  exact  locality  where  it  may  be  necessary  for  them 
to  live  from  year  to  year,  both  render  it  practically  im- 
possible for  them  to  become  their  own  landlords.  If  it 
were  not  for  this,  then  it  is  manifest  that  the  working 
man  could  make  no  better  investment  of  his  savings  than 
in  purchasing  his  own  house,  and  so  becoming  his  own 
landlord;  for  apart  from  the  honourable  ambition  of 
every  man  to  dwell  under  his  own  roof,  there  is  the  free- 
dom this  would  secure  him  from  arbitrary  interference. 
It  being  doubtful  whether  schemes  for  enabling  work- 
ing men  to  acquire  their  own  houses  are  a  remedy  for 
the  evils  attending  the  present  system  of  the  housing  of 
the  people,  municipalities  must  face  the  task  of  offering 
facilities  for  the  erection  of  better  houses  in  the  suburban 
districts,  the  rents  of  which,  together  with  the  cost  of 
transport  of  the  occupiers  to  and  from  their  daily  work, 
should  be  less  than  the  rental  demanded  for  inferior 
houses  in  the  congested  districts.  I  know  of  no  better 
way  in  which  this  can  be  done  than  by  the  municipality  ac- 
quiring suburban  land  in  large  quantities,  at  reasonable 
prices,  and  offering  this  land  absolutely  free  for  the  im- 
mediate erection  thereon  of  cottages,  in  conformity  with 
building  by-laws  specially  drawn  up  for  dealing  with 
the  same.  I  am  aware  that  this  will  sound  at  first  a  very 
revolutionary  proposal,  and  further,  that  it  will  appear  to 
many  as  absolutely  unfair  to  the  remaining  portion  of 
the  population.  In  reality  it  is  neither.  It  is  not  revolu- 
tionary because  we  have  ample  precedent  for  the  course 
proposed.  Have  we  not  fully  admitted  the  nation's 
responsibility  for  the  education  of  the  nation's  children, 
and  have  we  not  recognized  that  the  only  way  in  which 


156  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

we  can  ensure  that  all  children  shall  be  educated  is  to 
make  education  free?  We  have  seen  that  the  millions 
we  spend  annually  on  education  are  to  a  certain  extent 
wasted,  owing  to  the  improper  housing  of  the  poor. 
Therefore,  to  give  free  land  to  ensure  the  proper  hous- 
ing of  the  people  is  only  an  extension  of  a  principle  we 
have  already  accepted.  As  to  the  objection  that  it  may 
be  unjust  to  the  remaining  portion  of  the  population, 
my  endeavour  must  be  to  prove  that  the  property  built 
on  this  free  land  will  not  only  pay  for  the  land  which  is 
being  given,  but,  in  addition,  result  in  a  profit  to  the 
municipality  adopting  this  policy.  Therefore,  the  pro- 
posal is  neither  revolutionary  nor  unjust. 

But,  it  may  be  asked,  Is  it  absolutely  necessary  to  pro- 
vide free  land?  Cannot  we  leave  this  question  of  free 
land  alone,  and  proceed  in  some  other  way  ?  There  is  no 
other  way  than  first  dealing  with  the  question  of  land 
for  houses.  All  other  methods  are  simply  tinkering  with 
the  evil  we  would  remedy.  Corporations,  and  notably 
Liverpool,  have  built  blocks  of  workmen's  dwellings — 
so-called — and  anything  more  hideous,  more  undesirable 
for  the  rearing  of  a  family,  or  more  wasteful  of  the  pub- 
lic money  it  would  be  impossible  to  find.  The  most  you 
can  say  of  them  is  that  they  are  better  than  the  slums 
and  rookeries  they  have  replaced.  Whenever  I  see  these 
blocks  of  buildings  in  London,  and  elsewhere,  I  ask 
myself  what  our  nation  ^will  become  after  a  few  genera- 
tions have  been  reared  under  such  conditions,  and  the 
children's  children  of  those  bred  and  reared  in  these 
barracks  have  to  take  their  place  as  the  backbone  of  this 
country.  No!  this  system  will  never  do,  apart  altogether 
from  consideration  of  its  costliness  and  extravagance. 
But  I  can  imagine  some  one  asking,  How  will  free  land 
assist  us  in  dealing  with  this  question?  I  answer — in 
many  ways ;  and,  amongst  others,  by  preventing  specula- 


HEALTH  AND  HOUSING  157 

tion  in  land  for  houses.  Now,  I  do  not  for  one  moment 
wish  it  to  be  thought  that  this  in  itself  is  an  evil,  al- 
though in  many  cases  it  is  a  very  serious  evil.  To-day, 
land  can  be  bought  within  reasonable  reach  of  the  centre 
of  Birkenhead,  and  other  towns,  at  from  £  100  to  £200 
per  acre.  Within  the  last  three  years,  a  plot  of  300  acres 
on  the  Edgware  Road,  London,  within  seven  miles  of 
the  Marble  Arch,  sold  at  £50  per  acre.  But,  by  the 
time  the  spread  of  population  reaches  such  land,  and  it 
is  coming  into  demand  for  cottages,  the  price  will  prob- 
ably be  45.  to  55.  per  yard,  with  the  result  that  it  can 
only  be  used  for  the  erection  of  cottages  by  scheming 
and  planning  how  many  cottages  can  be  squeezed  on  to 
as  few  yards  of  land  as  possible.  Instead  of  which,  if 
the  municipality  steps  to  our  aid,  and  selects  land  with 
reasonable  business  forethought  and  acumen,  they  can 
secure  the  land  at  a  less  price  than  any  private  individual, 
and  can  afford  to  restrict  the  number  of  cottages  to  not 
exceeding  twelve  per  acre. 

With  regard  to  the  price  of  land,  there  should  be  no 
difficulty  in  buying  such  land  as  I  have  indicated  at 
from  £100  to  £200  per  acre,  freehold.  This  is  the 
price  that  land  can  be  bought  for  in  most  districts  before 
speculation  in  land  has  set  in.  It  is  many  times  above 
the  agricultural  value  of  the  land,  and  on  this  basis,  the 
proceeds  of  the  sale,  when  invested,  would  produce 
many  times  the  income  previously  being  derived  from 
the  land.  It  is  a  fair  price,  and  one  that  most  land- 
owners would  be  very  glad  to  receive.  At  the  same  time, 
I  do  not  suggest  for  one  moment  that  an  arbitrary  fixed 
value  should  be  put  on  the  land  to  be  acquired.  The 
value  in  all  cases  would  be  in  relation  to  the  market  value 
of  the  land  in  the  district,  and  could,  of  course,  be  easily 
settled  by  arbitration.  I  merely  take  the  figure  of  £  100 
to  £  200  per  acre  as  the  price  at  which  in  many  localities 


158  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

such  land  could  be  bought,  when  purchased  in  large 
quantities  and  free  from  speculation.  I  have  already 
stated  that  on  this  land  not  more  than  twelve  houses  per 
acre  should  be  built.  This  would  give  each  house  about 
400  square  yards,  including  roads  and  streets.  This  will 
be  found  to  allow  ample  space  for  the  free  circulation 
of  air,  and  for  a  small  garden  both  at  the  front  and  back 
of  the  house. 

I  will  now  endeavour  to  prove  that  the  giving  of  free 
land  for  houses  is  no  injustice  to  existing  ratepayers, 
but  that  in  fact  the  scheme  is  self-supporting.  Taking 
the  acre  of  ground  at  the  cost  of  £200,  the  interest  on 
this,  at  say  2%  to  3  per  cent.,  would  be  £6  per  annum. 
The  rateable  value  of  the  twelve  houses  we  will  take  at 
only  £  10  per  house,  total  £  120.  In  most  towns  the 
total  amount  of  the  rates  is  rather  over  than  under  55. 
in  the  pound;  thus  the  rates  on  this  property  would 
amount  to  £30  per  annum,  showing  a  surplus  of  £24 
on  the  rates,  after  allowing  for  interest.  Of  course,  I 
do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  whole  of  the  £24  would 
be  profit.  A  very  large  sum  out  of  it  would  necessarily 
represent  the  increased  expenditure  of  the  municipality 
incurred  in  consequence  of  the  erection  of  this  property. 
It  is  clear,  however,  that  there  is  considerable  income  at 
once  derived  from  the  property,  and  I  claim  that  out 
of  this  income  the  loss  of  interest,  together  with  sinking 
fund  for  extinction  of  principal,  could  be  met.  No  city 
could  possibly  be  ruined  by  the  adoption  of  this  policy. 
The  municipality,  that  is  the  ratepayers,  or  citizens  as  a 
body,  are  the  real  owners  of  all  property  within  the  city 
boundaries.  The  so-called  owner  has  in  reality  only  a 
life  interest  in  the  property.  The  demand  for  payment 
of  rates  comes  first  of  all,  and  must  be  satisfied  before 
mortgagors  or  owners  receive  their  interest  or  rents. 
This  being  so,  it  is  clear  that  the  adoption  of  this  policy 


HEALTH  AND  HOUSING  159 

is  nothing  more  than  applying  the  ordinary  rules  of 
business  to  the  management  of  municipalities.  What 
business  man  is  there  in  Birkenhead  who  would  not  will- 
ingly expend  £200  on  his  property  in  order  to  enable 
some  one  else  to  expend  £2,400  in  further  improving 
it?  Or,  who  would  not  willingly  face  an  increase  in  his 
working  expenses  of  £6  in  order  to  increase  his  gross 
profits  by  £30? 

But  some  may  argue  that  they  fail  to  see  how  the  value 
of  the  city  is  to  be  affected,  or  the  city  itself  be  made 
more  prosperous,  merely  by  attracting  people  from  the 
centre  to  the  outskirts.  To  this  I  would  reply,  that 
drawing  the  people  from  the  centre  to  the  suburbs  would 
not  be  the  only  effect  of  the  adoption  of  the  policy  I 
have  outlined.  Such  an  enlightened  policy,  offering  such 
facilities,  would  attract  newcomers  to  reside  in  our 
midst.  But  even  if  it  were  true  that  the  only  effect  were 
to  draw  from  the  centre  to  the  suburbs,  I  say  that  this 
would  not  in  any  way  affect  the  truth  of  the  claim  I 
have  made  as  to  the  advantages  this  system  offers.  It  is 
a  well-known  fact  that  overcrowded  and  wretched  prop- 
erty, from  which  it  is  desirable  to  withdraw  occupiers, 
does  not  yield  anything  like  its  fair  share  to  the  rates, 
and  that  such  property  is  not  rated  on  anything  like  the 
basis  of  the  rents  being  paid  by  the  occupiers.  A  family 
may  pay  45.  6d.  a  week  for  the  occupation  of  a  single 
room  in  a  tenement  house,  but  it  would  be  extremely 
difficult  to  assess  such  a  house  on  that  basis,  owing  to  the 
fluctuations  of  the  occupancy.  The  house  in  most  cases 
is  rented  as  a  whole  to  one  man,  who  farms  it  out  to  the 
various  sub-tenants.  The  rates  are  fixed  upon  the  rental 
as  a  whole. 

But  there  are  other  considerations  than  the  mere  bal- 
ance of  revenue  actually  in  sight.  The  whole  trade  of 
the  borough  would  be  improved  by  the  erection  of  these 


160  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

houses.  Bricklayers,  stone-masons,  joiners,  plumbers, 
plasterers,  painters,  etc.,  would  find  employment.  And 
when  the  houses  were  completed  the  whole  of  the  shop- 
keepers of  the  city  would  be  benefited  by  the  necessary 
expenditure  for  the  maintenance  of  the  occupiers.  The 
amount  of  money  required  to  be  invested  in  land  would 
relatively  be  small,  compared  to  the  benefits  to  be  de- 
rived by  the  whole  district.  The  cost  of  the  land  should 
not  exceed  one-tenth  of  the  cost  of  the  property  erected 
upon  it;  thus  there  would  be  ample  margin  for  security. 
The  cost  of  making  the  roads  on  the  land  would,  as  at 
present,  be  chargeable  on  the  property  they  served.  But 
it  may  be  urged  that  the  mere  giving  of  the  land  would 
effect  no  reduction  in  rents,  and  that  the  cottages  built 
on  free  land  would  not  necessarily  be  let  at  such  rentals 
as  would  be  any  inducement  in  attracting  from  the  centre 
to  the  suburbs.  This  is  not  so.  Dear  land  js  the  chief 
cause  of  high  rents  for  cottage  houses.  The  cheapening 
of  the  land  will  be  the  most  powerful  factor  in  reducing 
cottage  rentals.  Let  municipalities  use  reasonable  care 
and  judgment  in  securing  suitable  positions  for  the  erec- 
tion of  working  men's  houses,  and  builders  will  not  be 
slow  to  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages  offered. 
Competition  will  prevent  any  excess  in  rents  being  de- 
manded. The  law  of  supply  and  demand  will  govern  the 
number  of  houses,  and  the  whole  tendency  will  be  in 
the  right  direction.  Therefore,  seeing  that  although  the 
land  were  given  free,  those  who  received  the  land  would 
have  sunk  on  twelve  houses  at  least  £2,400  per  acre  in 
building,  and  that  this  would  improve  the  whole  trade 
of  the  borough,  we  may  safely  claim  that  owners  of 
the  existing  property  would  be  more  than  compensated 
by  these  advantages,  and  by  the  stimulus  the  adoption 
of  such  a  policy  would  give  in  drawing  to  the  city  an 
increased  population. 


HEALTH  AND  HOUSING  161 

What  is  it  that  is  making  Birkenhead  prosperous  at 
the  present  time  ?  We  shall  possibly  be  told  that  it  is  the 
magnificent  docks  she  possesses,  or  the  manufactories 
that  have  been  established  in  her  midst ;  but  I  venture  to 
assert  that  her  real  prosperity  has  sprung  from  her  in- 
crease in  population.  It  is  true  this  population  has  been 
attracted  to  Birkenhead  by  the  employment  to  be  ob- 
tained at  the  docks,  the  manufactories,  the  shops,  and 
elsewhere,  but  this  does  not  affect  the  question  that  it  is 
to  the  increase  in  population  that  Birkenhead  owes  her 
prosperity;  therefore,  the  adoption  by  Birkenhead  of  a 
policy  which  would  still  further  increase  her  population 
must  still  further  increase  her  prosperity.  I  know  of  no 
city  in  the  United  Kingdom  that  has  such  opportunities 
as  Birkenhead  for  the  adoption  of  such  an  enlightened 
policy  as  the  one  I  have  outlined.  The  real  wealth  of 
Birkenhead  is  her  inhabitants,  and  the  prosperity  and 
capital  which  have  been  attracted  to  her.  Stimulate  the 
increase  of  population.  Offer  inducements  for  more 
capital  to  be  spent  in  the  erection  of  houses  in  the 
borough,  and  you  apply  the  soundest  and  most  powerful 
stimulus  you  could  possibly  apply  for  still  increasing  her 
prosperity.  In  the  case  of  Birkenhead,  two  special  bene- 
fits would  accrue,  namely,  increased  traffic  on  the  ferries 
and  increased  traffic  on  the  elctric  trams  you  will  soon 
have  running.  Of  course,  it  would  be  wise,  and  neces- 
sary, to  allow  on  both  of  these  special  low  rates  for  the 
convenience  of  workers  at  certain  hours  of  the  day. 
But  experience  has  always  shown  that  such  low  rates 
are  really  more  remunerative  than  high  ones.  In  addi- 
tion, you  have  done  a  noble  work  in  lessening  the  over- 
crowding of  the  centre;  for  as  the  better  class  of  workers 
are  drawn  away  from  the  centre  to  the  outside  dis- 
tricts by  the  inducements  you  would  be  able  to  offer 
in  reduced  rents,  by  facilities  of  transport  by  your  elec- 


162  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

trie   cars,    so   the   overcrowding   at   the   centre   would 
cease. 

I  have  occupied  your  time  already  too  much  on  the 
financial  aspect  of  the  question.  I  feel  confident  that  you 
will  agree  with  me  that  if  we  were  to  confine  ourselves 
solely  to  the  financial  point  of  view,  we  should  be  taking 
a  very  narrow  one  of  Our  duty.  Far  greater  than  the 
financial  aspect  is  the  improvement  that  such  a  policy 
would  bring  about  in  the  condition  of  the  people.  I  speak 
from  experience  when  I  say  that  nothing  elevates  and 
raises  the  man,  his  wife,  and  family,  so  much  as  placing 
them  under  the  most  favourable  conditions  with  regard 
to  their  homes.  This  is  especially  true  with  regard  to 
the  children  who  are  growing  up.  It  is,  in  my  opinion, 
simply  ludicrous  for  us  to  spend  millions  a  year  in  edu- 
cating the  young,  whilst  at  the  same  time  a  very  consid- 
erable proportion  of  them  are  compelled  to  live  in  houses 
and  under  conditions  which,  as  Lord  Shaftesbury  has 
pointed  out,  absolutely  neutralize  all  the  benefits  to  be 
derived  from  education.  We  hear  it  sometimes  said  that 
the  result  of  our  free  education  is  not  everything  that 
we  expected,  or  that  we  were  justified  in  looking  for. 
May  not  the  cause  be,  not  in  our  system  of  free  educa- 
tion, not  in  the  people  themselves,  but  the  method  in 
which  the  majority  of  them  are  housed?  To  raise  the 
tone  of  the  mind  by  education,  and  to  cultivate  the  intel- 
ligence by  reading,  then  to  force  both  body  and  mind 
to  live  amidst  squalor  and  under  the  most  wretched  con- 
ditions, can  only  have  one  result — the  neutralizing  of 
any  good  effects  that  would  otherwise  have  resulted  from 
our  well-intentioned  but  misdirected  efforts.  Until  we 
have  dealt  with  this  great  question  of  the  housing  of 
the  people,  evangelists,  temperance  reformers,  social  re- 
formers may  rest  assured  that  they  are  simply  attempt- 
ing to  clean  out  an  Augean  stable,  and  that,  despite  all 


HEALTH  AND  HOUSING  163 

their  efforts,  the  state  of  those  they  are  attempting  to 
elevate  will  not  be  better,  but  worse,  as  each  year  rolls  on. 
I  must  apologize  for  having  occupied  your  attention 
for  so  long  a  time,  and  taxed  your  patience  in  listening 
to  this  paper.  My  excuse  must  be  the  importance  of  the 
subject.  For,  believe  me,  it  lies  at  the  very  root  of  the 
future  prosperity  and  happiness  of  our  country.  Let  us 
face  this  question  boldly.  The  money  is  a  mere  bagatelle, 
as  compared  with  the  benefits  that  would  accrue.  We  are 
the  richest  nation  in  the  world.  We  require  fresh  out- 
lets for  our  capital.  Nothing  that  could  possibly  be  sug- 
gested would  give  a  greater  return  to  the  nation  than 
the  one  I  have  indicated. 


SHOP  COMMITTEES  AND  SHOP  EFFICIENCY 

I  THINK  the  first  fact  that  we  must  recognize  is  that,  in 
the  coming  days,  the  employer  will  not  be  considered  to 
be  the  sole  arbiter  of  the  conditions  of  employment,  nor 
will  the  employee.  The  time  is  coming — and  coming 
very  rapidly — when  both  employer  and  employee  must 
be  more  subject  than  they  are  to-day  to  control  by  the 
State.  It  is  not  merely  a  question  of  the  rights  and 
duties  of  employer  and  employee,  but  we  know  now  that 
the  public,  the  consumer,  and,  in  fact,  the  well-being 
of  the  State  and  of  the  Empire,  have  also  to  be  consid- 
ered. We  have  not  yet  developed  to  the  point  that  we 
can  be  trusted,  any  of  us,  to  be  unselfish  from  the  highest 
motives  of  enlightened  self-interest.  The  education  and 
health  and  training  in  efficiency  of  the  whole  nation  de- 
pend upon  the  hours  of  labour  and  the  conditions  of 
employment. 

I  know  that  there  is  a  preconceived  false  idea  in  many 
minds  that  welfare  work  in  factories  is  largely  a  ques- 
tion of  canteens,  model  villages,  free  libraries,  and  so  on ; 
but,  in  my  opinion,  welfare  work  in  factories  is  much 
more  a  question  of  wages  and  hours,  of  ventilation  in 
the  factory,  of  cubical  air  space,  of  heating  and  lighting 
and  sanitation,  than  it  is  a  question  of  any  of  the  so- 
called  welfare  work  of  canteens  and  so  on.  Every  fact, 
circumstance,  and  condition  of  employment  affecting  the 
workers  engaged  in  a  factory  or  office — mentally,  physi- 
cally, or  materially — must  come  within  its  scope. 

164 


COMMITTEES  AND  SHOP  EFFICIENCY     165 

Our  modern  problem  in  considering-  industrial  de- 
velopments is  merely  one  of  size.  The  metallurgical  lab- 
oratory you  have  shown  to  me  this  afternoon  is  prob- 
ably many  times  larger  than  the  largest  engineering  works 
in  Sheffield  a  century  and  a  half  ago,  and  yet  it  is  only 
an  experimental  and  training  college  for  students.  A 
bigger  development  in  industrialism  than  that  made  in 
the  last  fifty  years  will  be  made  in  the  next  fifty  years; 
and  yet  the  progress  and  development  made  since,  say 
1860  to  the  present  time,  are  probably  greater,  in  science 
and  industrialism  throughout  the  world,  than  achieved 
in  all  the  centuries  preceding  that  time.  Up  to  now, 
the  creation  of  our  machinery  with  due  suitability  to  the 
work  it  had  to  perform  has  been  the  only  item  in  a  fac- 
tory that  has  received  full  consideration.  The  men  and 
women  operating  the  machines  have  been  entirely  for- 
gotten and  neglected.  I  need  not  enlarge  on  these  points 
here ;  I  am  speaking  to  those  who  have  become  aware  of 
this  outstanding  and  appalling  fact  in  the  course  of  their 
study  of  welfare  work.  It  is  quite  sufficient  merely  to 
mention  this  fact  and  to  pass  on,  and  I  will,  therefore, 
at  once  plunge  into  a  consideration  of  some  methods  of 
standardizing  welfare  work  in  factories. 

Before  the  employer  approaches  the  consideration  of 
welfare  work  for  employees,  the  first  care  of  all  must 
be  the  factory  building  itself  and  its  ventilation,  lighting, 
and  sanitation.  Its  position  is  much  better  in  suburban 
or  rural  areas  than  in  the  town  itself.  The  factory  build- 
ings must  be  well  lighted  and  well  ventilated.  Canteens 
are  a  necessary  part  of  the  equipment,  but  appliances 
intended  to  produce  the  good  health  of  the  employees 
have  not  received  in  the  past  sufficient  attention,  and 
they  are  entitled  to  the  fullest  consideration. 

Now  that  we  have  women  workers  doing  the  work  of 
men  away  on  war  service,  the  factory  clothing  has  been 


166  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

adapted  to  their  new  employment.  Now,  baths  are  an 
essential  in  factories.  Rest-rooms  are  an  essential  as 
well  as  clothing  and  other  items;  but  of  the  greatest 
importance  of  all  in  these  matters  is  the  prevention  of 
accidents — a  movement  called  "  Safety  First/'  which,  I 
believe,  originated  in  the  United  States.  But  before  I 
can  explain  a  working  system  with  regard  to  the  pre- 
vention of  accidents,  I  would  like  to  explain  to  you  a 
system  of  Works  Committees,  because  it  is  through  the 
Works  Committees  that  the  scheme  for  the  prevention 
of  accidents  is  carried  on. 

I  am  constantly  being  asked  the  question  whether  the 
rank-and-file  workers  cannot  sit  on  Boards  of  Directors 
and  engage  in  the  highest  policy  of  business  management 
as  Directors.  Now,  may  I  put  the  problem  to  you  thus : 
As  one  who  knew  nothing  at  all  about  the  business  of 
soap-making  thirty  years  ago,  I  had  to  begin  in  a  small 
way.  Each  of  our  Directors  has  been  a  member  of  the 
staff,  with  one  solitary  exception,  and  it  was  only  as  I 
and  my  colleagues  acquired  knowledge  and  experience 
step  by  step  that  we  were  qualified  for  the  larger  business 
and  ever-increasing  business.  That  rule  must  apply 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  staff,  and  therefore  we  must 
begin  with  a  system  of  Works  Committees. 

Now,  one  system  of  Works  Committees  that  I  pro- 
pose to  describe  may  be  briefly  defined  as  follows:  It 
commences  with  the  formation  of  Divisional  Works  Com- 
mittees; these  Divisional  Works  Committees  are  sub- 
sidiary to  a  General  Works  Council,  which,  in  its  turn,  is 
subsidiary  to  the  Works  Control  Board,  so  you  see  there 
are  three  lines  of  committees — Divisional  Works  Com- 
mittees, General  Works  Council,  and  Works  Control 
Board.  The  constitution  and  duties  of  the  Divisional 
Committees  are  as  follows :  Each  department  of  the 
works  appoints  its  own  Divisional  Committee,  consisting 


COMMITTEES  AND  SHOP  EFFICIENCY     167 

of  ten  members.  That  is,  each  department  of  the  works, 
remember ;  and  in  the  example  I  refer  to  there  are  twenty 
of  these  Divisional  Committees,  which  means  a  total  of 
200  members.  Of  the  ten  members  of  each  Divisional 
Committee,  five  represent  management  and  five  represent 
the  staff,  and  the  chairman  is,  elected  from  the  five  mem- 
bers of  the  management.  The  members  of  the  staff,  as 
well  as  of  the  management,  must  be  co-partners,  which 
means  that  they  must  have  had  at  least  four  years'  serv- 
ice with  the  firm.  They  are  nominated  and  elected  by 
the  employees  of  the  department  they  represent.  Em- 
ployee representatives  sit  for  six  months  only  and  then 
retire,  but  are  eligible  for  re-election  after  twelve  months. 
This  system  is  to  obtain  as  wide  an  interest  as  possible. 
Where  males  and  females  are  employed,  separate  com- 
mittees of  females  may,  if  desired,  be  appointed. 

The  duties  of  Divisional  Committees  are:  (a)  Dealing 
with  suggestions  made  by  the  staff.  These  suggestions 
cover  a  wide  field :  they  relate  to  improvement  in  the 
conduct  of  the  work,  suggestions  with  regard  to  the 
safety  and  health  of  the  employees,  and  any  matter  about 
which  a  member  of  the  staff  may  desire  to  make  a  sug- 
gestion. (&)  Suggestions  can  be  made  for  the  better- 
ment of  the  division,  or  the  works  as  a  whole,  (c)  The 
third  duty  is  to  see  to  the  observance  of  the  rules  and 
regulations  and  to  suppress  waste  and  irregularities. 
( d)  To  inquire  into  all  accidents,  (e)  To  hear  appeals 
against  dismissals — that  is  a  very  important  matter ;  and 
(/)  to  make  general  recommendations  on  any  subject. 
Meetings  may  be  held  alternately  in  the  Company's  and 
in  the  employees'  own  time ;  therefore,  you  see,  half  the 
meetings  may  be  held  in  the  Company's  time,  say  morn- 
ing or  afternoon,  and  half  in  the  employees'  time,  in 
the  evening.  No  fees  or  payments  attach  to  member- 
ship. 


168  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

As  I  said  before,  there  are  twenty  of  these  Divisional 
Committees.  Of  the  duties  mentioned,  it  is  found  that 
dealing  with  and  investigating  suggestions  and  making 
suggestions  for  betterment  and  prevention  of  accidents 
occupy  the  largest  portion  of  the  time  and  attention  of 
the  Divisional  Committees.  With  regard  to  the  first  two, 
Suggestion  Boxes  are  installed  in  conspicuous  and  con- 
venient places  throughout  the  works,  containing  neces- 
sary stationery  forms  and  envelopes.  An  employee 
wishing  to  make  a  suggestion  does  so  on  the  form  pro- 
vided for  that  purpose,  signs  his  or  her  name  or  not, 
as  either  may  wish,  places  it  in  an  envelope,  and  puts  it 
in  the  letter-box.  The  secretary  of  the  Divisional  Com- 
mittee, on  receipt  of  the  suggestion,  enters  it  on  the 
register,  gives  a  number  to  it,  and  sends  a  receipt  for  it 
to  the  suggestor.  The  Divisional  Committee  can,  after 
discussion,  recommend  its  adoption  or  rejection  or  modi- 
fication, but  has  no  other  power,  and  then  it  passes  on 
to  the  General  Works  Council. 

With  regard  to  accidents:  When  an  employee  meets 
with  an  accident,  however  trivial,  he  or  she  must  imme- 
diately report  to  the  foreman  or  forewoman,  who  in  turn 
reports  to  the  Divisional  Manager,  in  order  that  a  notice 
may  be  sent  to  the  Safety  Inspector.  It  is  the  duty  of  the 
Divisional  Committee,  after  hearing  evidence  on  the  ac- 
cident, to  record  the  cause  of  the  accident.  Arising  out 
of  the  inquiry,  the  Divisional  Committee  make  recom- 
mendations for  prevention  of  similar  future  accidents 
by  the  installation  of  suggested  safety  appliances.  There 
is  no  branch  of  welfare  work  in  factories  that  is  so  neces- 
sary and,  in  fact,  so  essential  to  efficiency  as  the  installa- 
tion of  a  Safety  First  Committee  and  a  Safety  First 
Inspector,  and,  in  connection  therewith,  a  surgery  or  first- 
aid  room.  Accident  prevention  pays.  Prevention  is  not 
merely  a  question  of  guards.  The  education  of  the  em- 


COMMITTEES  AND  SHOP  EFFICIENCY      169 

ployee  on  lines  of  safety  is  most  important.  The  axiom 
of  all  of  us  must  be  that  it  is  always  better  to  remove 
a  source  of  danger  than  to  set  guards  around  it.  Guards 
are  of  great  value,  but  they  are  not  the  only  means  of 
protection.  Careful  and  systematic  education  of  the 
employees  in  the  principles  of  Safety  First  are  of,  at 
least,  equal  importance.  Now,  there  are  Safety  Museums 
in  France  and  in  the  United  States;  we  have  none  in  the 
United  Kingdom.  Our  lack  in  this  has  been  pointed  out 
to  the  Home  Office.  The  Home  Office  does  nothing  be- 
yond expressing  its  blessing,  but  takes  no  action  to 
grant  the  blessing  of  a  Safety  Museum.  Now,  safety 
and  prevention  of  accident  must  not  be  merely  a  putting 
up  of  placards.  I  could  give  you  an  instance  of  a  sug- 
gestion from  the  employees  to  show  that  mere  notices  in 
themselves  are  not  as  important  as  the  education  and 
arousing  the  personal  interest  of  the  staff.  In  the  case 
of  a  machine  operated  by  women  serious  accidents  were 
continually  occurring,  and  all  attempts  to  adequately 
prevent  them  failed.  A  suggestion  of  a  safety  appliance 
to  be  fixed  to  the  machine  was  made  by  one  of  the  em- 
ployees. It  was  so  applied,  and  no  accident  has  since 
occurred.  The  time  taken  up  by  these  Divisional  meet- 
ings is  not  large. 

We  have  throughout  the  works  a  number  of  what  are 
called  "  Safety  Bulletin  Boards."  These  are  placed  at 
the  entrance  to  each  factory  building,  and  on  these  boards 
is  exhibited  a  summary  of  the  various  safety  notices,  so 
that  the  principal  ones  are  at  all  times  on  view  to  the 
employee.  These  occupy  one-half  of  the  board,  and  on 
the  other  half  any  special  notices  for  the  day  or  week 
are  exhibited  from  time  to  time.  When  new  notices  are 
put  up,  a  cut-out  finger,  printed,  is  pointed  to  the  notices 
and  placed  above  them.  Mottoes  are  hung  in  various  de- 
partments to  get  the  various  employees  interested  in 


170  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

reading  the  notices,  and  new  mottoes  are  continually 
gathered  and  added  to  the  list.  The  most  frequent 
source  of  accidents  is  the  neglect  of  employees  to  replace 
the  guards  on  machinery  after  cleaning  or  oiling.  To 
prevent  this  there  has  been  originated  a  system  of  small 
tablets,  printed  in  red,  and  so  fixed  as  to  come  into  view 
only  when  the  guard  is  removed,  so  that  if  the  guard  is 
not  replaced  this  tablet  announces  the  fact  to  the  oper- 
ator. To  superintend  all  this  finds  full  employment  for 
what  is  called  a  "  Safety  Inspector,"  who  devotes  the 
whole  of  his  time  to  the  duties  of  "  Safety  First."  He 
makes  a  systematic  inspection  of  guards  and  sees  that 
they  are  maintained  in  an  efficient  manner.  Now,  I  will 
give  you  the  opinion  of  His  Majesty's  Chief  Inspector  of 
Factories  for  the  North-Western  Division.  In  review- 
ing the  cases  of  accidents  that  came  before  liim,  he  sug- 
gests "  the  adoption  of  a  scheme  in  force  in  a  very  large 
works  in  his  district  which  he  thinks  would  do  more  to 
reduce  accidents  than  any  Act  of  Parliament  or  an  army 
of  inspectors."  He  then  proceeds  to  describe  the  scheme 
I  have  just  outlined  to  you — the  Safety  First  scheme — 
but,  of  course,  without  naming  the  firm  or  giving  any 
clue  for  identification. 

I  will  now  give  you  some  figures.  I  have  got  here  a 
Safety  Inspector's  Report  for  last  August.  It  reads  as 
follows : — 

Since  my  appointment  as  Factory  Safety  Inspector  of 
these  works  the  number  of  accidents  has  been  reduced  to 
almost  a  minimum,  and  to  achieve  this  end  it  was  first  of 
all  necessary  to  educate  our  employees  to  the  knowledge 
that  "  Safety  "  was  for  them.  Safety  Notices  and  Bulletins 
were  freely  exhibited  on  special  Bulletin  Boards  throughout 
the  factory,  and  at  the  commencement  of  this  campaign  the 
employees  wondered  what  was  meant  by  the  steps  taken. 


COMMITTEES  AND  SHOP  EFFICIENCY    171 

After  accidents  had  occurred  and  safety  devices  had  been 
installed  to  prevent  their  recurrence,  they  were  quick  to 
realize  and  appreciate  the  precautions  taken  to  eliminate 
accidents,  however  trivial.  Our  employees  are  now  almost 
as  enthusiastic  as  myself,  and  from  day  to  day  I  am  in 
receipt  of  suggestions  as  to  the  treatment  of  what  they  them- 
selves consider  "  danger  zones." 

It  is  evident  to  all  that  the  number  of  accidents  since  the 
inauguration  of  our  campaign  has  been  materially  reduced, 
as  compared  with  the  number  reported  during  the  cor- 
responding period  of  the  year  1916.  This,  in  face  of  the 
fact  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  our  workpeople  are 
new  to  our  class  of  work,  consequent  upon  the  dilution  of 
male  labour  entailed  by  the  calling  of  our  men  to  the 
Colours.  Hundreds  of  women  are  now  engaged  on  work 
previously  executed  by  these  men,  and  although  working 
at  abnormal  pressure  and  under  conditions  which  tend  to  an 
increased  accident  roll,  I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  report  a 
reduction  in  the  number  of  reportable  accidents  of  64  per 
cent.  During  the  first  six  months  of  1916,  113  accidents 
were  reported  to  H.M.  Inspector;  during  the  first  six  months 
of  1917  this  number  was  reduced  to  41,  whilst  the  amount 
paid  in  compensation  showed  a  reduction  of  nearly  £100, 
and  in  loss  of  wages  to  employees  of  £160. 

Notices  for  our  bulletin  cases  are  changed  weekly,  with 
the  exception  of  those  appearing  in  the  left-hand  portion  of 
the  case,  which  are  of  a  permanent  nature. 

In  addition  to  these  bulletins  and  permanent  notices  we 
have  also  "  Warning "  Notices  posted  conspicuously 
throughout  the  factory,  such  as : — 

"  Crossing." 

"  Railway  Track." 
7  "  Look  Out  For  Trains." 

"  Transporters." 

"  Speed  Limit,"  etc. 


172  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

A  copy  of  our  "  Safety  Rules  "  is  also  posted  at  frequent 
intervals  throughout  the  works. 

For  a  considerable  time  we  had  great  difficulty  in  edu- 
cating our  employees  in  the  use  of  goggles  and  respirators. 
Notices  were  therefore  posted,  and  cases  containing  goggles 
and  respirators  fixed  in  the  various  departments  in  which 
the  use  of  these  safety  devices  was  desirable,  with  the  result 
that  there  is  now  no  hesitation  whatever  on  the  part  of  the 
employee  in  using  these,  or  in  making  application  for  the 
renewal  of  those  worn  out.  With  this  enthusiasm  on  the 
part  of  our  employees  the  efficiency  of  these  safety  devices 
has  been  proved  by  the  fact  that  there  has  not  been  a 
single  accident  reported  since  their  introduction. 

The  question  of  accident  prevention  is  occupying  much 
attention,  and  I  am  sure  that,  considering  the  short  time 
the  campaign  has  been  in  vogue,  great  and  satisfactory  re- 
sults will  be  obtained,  both  as  regards  accidents  through 
"  machinery  in  motion  "  and  accidents  arising  through  other 
causes. 

I  would  like  to  draw  attention  to  some  of  our  perma- 
nent notices  on  machines,  particularly  to  one  relating  to 
"  machine  running."  Many  accidents  have  occurred  owing 
to  the  machine-minder  being  called  away  from  the  machine 
and  leaving  it  running,  and  to  the  interference  of  other  em- 
ployees who  had  no  knowledge  of  its  working.  All  ma- 
chines worked  by  young  people  have  a  small  card  of  instruc- 
tions fitted  into  a  tin  frame,  and  the  operator,  after  having 
been  thoroughly  instructed  as  to  the  machine's  manipula- 
tion and  the  use  of  Safety  devices  in  connection  therewith, 
appends  his  or  her  signature  to  the  card,  which  is  then 
suspended  from  the  machine  in  a  prominent  position.  In 
the  event  of  operators  being  moved  from  one  machine  to 
another,  the  same  routine  is  again  gone  through.  No 
operator  who  has  occasion  to  leave  a  machine  now  allows  it 
to  run  during  his  or  her  absence,  and  thus,  through  the 


COMMITTEES  AND  SHOP  EFFICIENCY     173 

notice  under  question,  the  risk  of  innumerable  accidents 
is  avoided.  Another  notice,  referring  to  the  question  of 
men  working  on  "  shafting,"  is  placed  on  the  starting  gear 
by  the  oiler  whose  duty  it  is  to  attend  to  the  oiling  of  shaft 
bearings,  and  the  person  responsible  for  the  starting  up 
of  the  machine  makes  certain  that  all  is  clear  before  starting 
up.  A  warning  notice  is  attached  to  every  electric  motor 
throughout  the  factory.  In  the  past,  many  accidents  have 
occurred  in  consequence  of  workmen  removing  guards  and 
neglecting  to  replace  them.  The  warning  notices  are  now 
placed  under  each  guard,  and  are  not  visible  while  the  guards 
are  in  position,  immediately,  however,  a  guard  is  removed, 
the  notice  is  quite  prominent,  and  reminds  the  worker  of 
the  necessity  of  carefully  replacing  the  guard  before 
starting  the  machine.  We  have  not  had  a  single  acci- 
dent from  this  cause  since  the  inauguration  of  these 
notices.1 

Another  innovation  is  our  Waste  Campaign.  Anti-Waste 
Bulletin  Notices  have  been  prepared  and  are  placed  in 
prominent  positions  throughout  the  factory.  Permanent 
notice  boards  are  fixed  in  all  the  main  passages  leading  to 
the  different  departments,  whilst  portable  notice  boards  are 
placed  in  the  workrooms,  and  can  be  moved  from  one  part 
of  the  room  to  the  other,  so  that  the  bulletins  are  always 
kept  fresh  in  the  minds  of  the  workers. 

Now,  from  the  Divisional  Committee  all  reports  and 
recommendations  are  passed  on  to  the  General  Works 
Council.  The  General  Works  Council  I  wish  to  describe 
to  you  is  composed  of  the  chairmen  of  the  various  Di- 
visional Committees.  Its  meetings  are  held  monthly, 
and  its  chairman,  in  turn,  is  the  General  Works  Man- 
ager. Its  chief  functions  are:  (a)  To  review  recom- 
mendations from  the  Divisional  Committees;  (b)  to  re- 

1  For  statistics  see  next  page. 

\ 


174 


THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 


The  following  Port  Sunlight  Accident  Statistics  for  1916  and 
1917  illustrate  the  results  achieved  by  the  "  Safety  First "  Cam- 
paign which  came  into  operation  in  the  middle  of  1916. 


Nature  of  Accidents                      . 

Number  of  Accidents 

1916 

1917 

M. 

F. 

M. 

F. 

Slipping,  stumbling,  falling  on  floors... 
Slipping,  stumbling,  falling  on  gangways 
Trapped  in  Hand  Stamping  Machines.. 
Trapped  in  Machinery  in  motion,  Winch 
and  Crane,  Ropes  and  Slings,  Belting, 
etc  

30 

I 
I 

16 

5 

10 

23 

13 

i 

8 
16 

2 

4 
6 
10 

2 

4 

II 

6 
9 

2 

3 

5 

i 
6 

3 
3 

18 

i 
i 

4 

2 

2 
15 

8 

3 
9 

i 

3 

i 

6 

7 

7 
i 

3 
i 

i 
5 

i 
i 

Trapped  in  Wagon  Buffers,  etc  

Tripping  over  Railway  Metals  

Self-inflicted   through    cutting,    striking 
with  hammers,  etc  

Falling  of  tools,  fittings,  materials,  etc. 
Scalds    and    burns    from    acids,    steam, 
caustic  soda    etc    .... 

Overcome  by  fumes.  . 

Slipping   of    tools,    breaking   of    lifting 
gear  rope  lashings   etc 

Strains  and  bruises  from  lifting,  stack- 
ing  loading   trucking   etc 

(Many  doubtful  cases.    See  below.) 

Giving  way  of  roofing,  tilting  of  stag- 
ing  etc    

Splinters           

Protruding  nails    etc      

Ironbound  boxes   crushing   etc         .... 

Chippings  and  filings  in  the  eye  

Other    foreign    bodies    in    the    eye  —  as 
acids,  soap,  dust,  etc. 

152 

49 

68 

33 

COMMITTEES  AND  SHOP  EFFICIENCY    175 

DEGREE  OF  INJURY 


1916 

Fatal 

Severe 

Moder- 
ately 
Severe 

Slight 

Total 
Accidents 

Per  cent, 
to  Total 
Employ 

Males      

I 

I« 

4 

146 

152 

C.OO 

Females    

I 

48 

40 

1.66 

I 

2 

4 

194 

201 

3.67 

1917 
Males    

I 

I 

66 

68 

Females 

I 

T2 

33 

o  80 

— 

2 

I 

98 

IOI 

1.59 

view  accident  recommendations  from  the  Divisional 
Committees;  (c)  to  consider  questions  of  repairs  and 
renewals  to  the  plant  and  buildings  and  to  prepare  esti- 
mates of  the  cost  of  same;  (d)  to  discuss  generally  any 
matter  which  members  may  bring  t  forward ;  and  (e) 
other  matters.  Having  expressed  its  views  on  sugges- 
tions and  recommendations  and  added  recommendations 
of  its  own  thereto,  the  General  Works  Council  passes 
on  the  various  matters  to  the  Works  Control  Board. 

The  Works  Control  Board  consists  of  the  Managing 
Director,  who,  as  Director,  has  special  charge  of  manu- 
facture and  of  the  works,  with  the  General  Manager  and 
with  such  of  the  Divisional  Managers  as  may  be  co- 
opted.  The  Control  Board  has  full  power  of  adoption 
or  rejection,  but  if  the  adoption  entails  capital  expendi- 
ture over  a  very  small  and  limited  amount,  the  approval 
of  the  full  Board  of  Directors  is  required.  The  final 
decision  having  been  obtained,  instructions  to  manage- 
ment are  given  out  on  forms  provided,  and  the  work  is 
proceeded  with.  Awards  to  the  suggestors  are  made 
annually  for  suggestions  made  and  adopted. 


176  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

In  addition  to  the  above  committees,  there  is  a  sys- 
tem of  conferences  composed  of  the  Head  Management, 
managers,  heads  of  departments,  foremen,  and  staff,  for 
the  purpose  of  encouraging  suggestions  and  establishing 
closer  co-operation  between  the  various  departments. 
The  General  Conference  sits  every  four  or  six  weeks, 
when  matters  of  interest  affecting  the  industrial  position 
generally,  or  the  firm  in  particular,  are  discussed.  There 
has  been  also  instituted  a  system  of  periodic  visits  of 
the  foremen  and  managers  of  each  department  through 
the  whole  of  the  rest  of  the  works.  Nothing  that  has 
been  introduced  has  given  better  results  than  that.  Many 
of  the  foremen  and  managers  only  see  their  own  depart- 
ment, and  in  going  around  other  departments  they  make 
suggestions  to  the  managers  of  those  departments  as  to 
things  they  have  found  useful  in  their  own  experience, 
and  what  they  have  done  in  their  own  department  in  im- 
provements, and  they  receive  many  suggestions  from  the 
departments  they  are  visiting.  These  visits  have  been  an 
unbounded  success,  just  these  little  periodic  visits  to  the 
other  departments  by  the  foremen  and  managers. 

The  managers,  heads  of  departments,  and  foremen 
have  formed  a  club  called  "  The  Progress  Club."  This 
club  has  a  room  and  a  special  library  of  technical  books 
and  periodicals  for  the  use  of  its  members.  It  meets 
once  a  month  for  hearing  papers  read  by  the  members, 
and  discussion  follows.  The  Progress  Club  is  a  thor- 
oughly live  institution,  and  has  justified  its  existence  and 
name. 

Another  institution  which  the  employees  have  started 
for  themselves  is  the  "  Co-Partnership  in  War-time  Com- 
mittee." The  staff  were  anxious  to  do  what  they  could 
during  the  war,  and  started  this  committee  to  consider 
on  what  lines  they  could  best  work  under  war  conditions. 
It  has  been  a  thorough  success,  on  lines  similar  to  the 


COMMITTEES  AND  SHOP  EFFICIENCY     177 

Progress  Club,  but  Co-Partnera  only  are  eligible  for 
membership.  I  would  like,  if  time  had  permitted,  to  say 
something  on  the  great  question  of  Co-Partnership.  I 
am  positive  it  is  a  binding  and  stimulating  force  through- 
out the  whole  organization  of  business,  and  represents  a 
very  long  step  in  advance  on  the  mere  wages  system 
alone. 

Now,  springing  out  of  Co-Partnership,  the  firm  I  am 
taking  as  an  example  have  had  a  body  of  men  who  have 
started  themselves  to  work  on  their  Co-Partnership 
motto,  which  is,  "  Waste  not,  want  not."  I  have  brought 
specimens  of  the  notices  of  these,  but  I  do  not  think  it 
would  serve  any  useful  purpose  to  attempt  to  exhibit 
them,  as  they  would  nqt  be  seen,  and,  with  your  permis- 
sion, I  will  not  do  so — but  these  mottoes  are  very  helpful, 
and  they  are  inspired  by  the  Co-Partners  themselves. 
Well,  then,  there  are  many  other  institutions,  such  as 
Long  Service  Awards.  These  are  intended  to  encourage 
men  to  remain  with  the  firm.  The  staff  have  got  their 
own  Sick,  Funeral,  and  Medical  Aid  Society.  There  are 
an  Employees'  Benefit  Fund,  a  Holiday  Club,  and  a 
Savings  Bank,  and,  with  regard  to  Savings  Banks,  my 
own  ideal,  though  I  have  never  heard  of  any  firm  who 
have  put  it  into  practice,  is  that  the  wages  of  the  rank- 
and-file  worker  ought  to  be  paid  to  his  credit  in  a  bank 
in  just  the  same  way  that  the  salaries  of  the  managers 
are  generally  paid  to  their  credit  with  their  bankers.  I 
believe  the  system  of  his  going  to  a  pay-office  and  wait- 
ing his  turn  and  drawing  his  wages  in  cash  and  slipping 
it  into  his  pocket  accounts  for  the  excessive  spending 
that  takes  place  when  wages  are  high.  I  believe  that  if 
the  employee's  wages  were  paid  into  his  bank  to  the 
credit  of  his  own  private  account,  and  he  had  to  reverse 
the  process  and  go  to  the  bank  when  he  wanted  money 
for  himself  or  for  his  wife,  he  would  be  inclined  every 


178  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

week  to  leave  a  little  in  the  bank.  I  have  mentioned  this 
suggested  method  of  wage-paying  to  workers,  and  I  find 
that  more  than  half  were  most  favourably  disposed  to  it. 
The  only  objection  I  heard  was  from  one  man  who  said, 
"  I  like  to  see  my  wages  in  my  hand." 

Well,  now  I  come  to  the  question  of  education.  The 
firm  I  am  using  as  an  example  had  for  many  years  made 
it  a  condition  of  employment  that  all  young  persons  of 
eighteen  years  of  age  and  under,  of  both  sexes,  should 
attend  the  evening  classes  for  certain  nights  each  week. 
That  was  found  to  be  a  failure.  Take  the  case  of  boys 
and  girls  of  fourteen  years  of  age  leaving  school  and 
commencing  work.  They  have  been  going  to  school  at 
9  a.m.,  they  have  had  a  quarter  of  an  hour  break  for 
play,  have  gone  home  at  twelve  noon,  going  back  again 
at  1.30  or  2  p.m.,  with  another  break  during  the  after- 
noon, have  gone  home  at  four  o'clock.  To  take  them, 
at  fourteen  years  of  age,  from  such  conditions  and 
plunge  them  into  work  in  a  factory  or  office  side  by  side 
with  adults,  and  after  working  them  during  the  whole 
day  to  expect  these  young  boys  and  girls  to  attend  eve- 
ning classes  never  was  likely  to  prove  a  success.  They 
have  not  the  strength,  and  are  tired  out.  They  are  not 
then  in  the  mental  or  bodily  condition  to  receive  educa- 
tion, and  you  will  not  be  surprised  to  hear  the  results 
were  most  unsatisfactory.  So  this  method  has  been 
discarded,  and  the  firm  have  got  what  they  call  a  "  Staff 
Training  College."  It  was  only  started  experimentally 
this  year.  Young  people  under  eighteen  in  such  de- 
partments as  the  firm  are  experimenting  with — and  the 
firm  are  experimenting  with  as  many  as  the  class-room  ac- 
commodation will  permit — take  their  education  in  the 
firm's  time;  they  do  not  take  it  in  the  evening.  It  is 
hoped  in  this  way  to  give  them  a  much  better  education. 
The  firm  have  a  great  many  volunteers  from  amongst 


COMMITTEES  AND  SHOP  EFFICIENCY     179 

their  own  staff  who  are  undertaking  the  teaching,  all  ex- 
penses in  connection  therewith  being  paid  by  the  firm. 

Now  I  come,  lastly,  to  what  many  people  would  place 
first,  and  that  is  the  provision  of  a  model  village.  There 
is  much  to  be  said  in  favour  of  such  welfare  work;  but 
my  own  opinion  is  that  the  employer  ought  never  to  be 
in  the  position  of  landlord  to  the  employee;  still,  if  the 
employer  has  to  choose  between  being  in  the  position  of 
landlord  and  the  people  being  badly  housed,  then  the 
lesser  evil  is  for  him  to  build  suitable  houses  and-  be 
landlord;  but  it  is  not  the  right  relationship.  There  are 
various  institutions  spring  up  in  such  a 'village.  I  would 
like  to  give  you  some  statistics,  which  I  can  readily  do, 
as  to  the  number  of  births  and  deaths.  The  death-rate  in 
the  village  in  1916  was  8  per  thousand,  and  the  birth- 
rate 19.55  per  thousand;  the  highest  rate  we  had  reached 
before  the  war  for  births  was  52.71  per  thousand  in 
1903.  So  that  if  one  has  to  choose  between  good  homes 
built  by  the  employer,  with  a  high  birth-rate  and  a  low 
death-rate,  and  the  objection  to  the  employer  being  in 
the  position  of  landlord,  I  think  the  lesser  evil  is  that  he 
should  be  in  the  position  of  landlord. 

Of  all  welfare  work  in  factories,  a  proper  apportion- 
ment of  the  time  is  the  one  that  will  yield  the  best  re- 
sults. 

A  six-hour  working  day  would  give  all  that  we  require 
in  production  from  our  workers,  so  that  we  can  pay  to 
the  workers  the  same  rate  of  pay  for  the  reduced  hours 
that  they  receive  for  the  longer  hours :  it  would  solve  the 
education  question  for  the  boy  and  girl  on  first  leaving 
school;  it  would  solve  the  question  of  physical  training; 
it  would  solve  the  question  of  military  training,  so 
that  we  could  have  a  trained  citizen  army;  and  it  would 
solve  the  question  of  the  outloolc  on  life  of  our  workers. 

It  was  never  the  Creator's  intention  to  send  us  into 


180  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

the  world  so  many  "hands  " — He  sent  us  with  imagina- 
tion, He  sent  us  with  the  love  of  the  country,  He  sent  us 
with  ideals  and  outlook,  and  these  are  simply  stifled  un- 
der our  present  industrial  system. 


XI 

INDUSTRIAL  ADMINISTRATION 

THE  answer  to  the  question,  "  What  is  the  employer's 
position  at  the  present  time  ?  "  depends,  like  the  answer 
to  so  many  other  questions,  upon  the  point  of  view  that 
this  position  is  regarded  from.  You  will  remember  the 
story  of  the  painter  who  was  explaining  to  his  sitter  for 
a  portrait  that  he  could  only  paint  his  portrait  as  he  saw 
the  sitter,  to  which  the  sitter  promptly  replied,  "  But, 
unfortunately,  I  can  only  see  my  portrait  as  you  paint 
it."  However,  I  may,  perhaps,  better  answer  the  ques- 
tion by  adopting  the  answer  given  to  the  question,  "  Is 
life  worth  living?  " — the  answer  to  which  was,  you  will 
remember,  that  "  It  all  depends  upon  the  liver."  If  the 
employer's  liver  is  out  of  order  he  is  apt  to  take  the  view 
that  "  the  times  are  out  of  joint " ;  and  it  is  not  impos- 
sible, under  similar  circumstances,  that  the  workman, 
even  when  working  in  good  conditions  of  employment, 
might,  if  he  was  told,  as  was  the  Irishman,  that  he  could 
not  do  too  much  for  a  good  master,  give  the  answer, 
"No  more  will  I."  However,  we  shall  all  agree  that 
to-day  it  were  wise  if  both  employer  and  employee  ex- 
amined their  relationships  in  the  past  and  looked  well 
ahead  into  the  future. 

And  the  first  point  in  the  near  future  that  will  present 
itself  to  both  will  be  the  consideration  of  after-war  con- 
ditions. The  experience  gained  by  both  employer  and 
employee  during  this  war  makes  it  impossible  for  either 
to  resume  work  after  the  war  with  conditions  quite  the 

181 


182  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

same  as  they  were  when  the  war  broke  out.  For  one 
thing  alone,  the  war  has  added  nearly  one  and  a  half 
millions  of  income-tax  payers  to  the  previous  number 
who  came  within  the  net  of  the  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer, which  of  itself  is  a  revolution.  This  increase 
in  numbers  is  not  only  the  natural  effect  of  lowering  the 
limit  of  exemption,  but  mainly,  as  far  as  is  ascertainable 
at  present,  from  actual  increases  in  wages  and  salary. 
This  is  a  grand  fact  and,  if  the  employer  can  take  a  far- 
sighted  view,  is  an  immense  gain  to  the  strength  of  in- 
dustrial production. 

Statistics  of  incomes  and  income-tax  payers,  when 
carefully  examined,  reveal  this  great  truth,  that  to  bring 
a  larger  body  of  wage-earners  within  the  scope  of  the 
income-tax  collector  has  the  undoubted  tendency  to  in- 
crease the  efforts  of  each  to  earn  a  larger  income  out  of 
which  to  pay  the  tax.  Equally,  every  raising  of  the  rate 
at  which  income  tax  is  levied  has  been  followed  by  in- 
creased efforts,  successfully  made,  to  increase  incomes 
out  of  which  to  pay  the  increased  tax.  Therefore  the 
effect  of  placing  one  and  a  half  million  additional  in- 
come-tax payers  on  this  higher  platform  has  been  to 
place  an  increased  number  of  employers  and  employees 
side  by  side  as  income-tax  payers,  and  give  them  one 
common  object  to  strive  for,  viz.,  to  maintain  and  to  in- 
crease incomes.  We  are  all  inclined  to  say,  with  the 
Irishman,  "  Be  jabers  to  the  tax,  if  you  will  give  me 
the  income,"  and  having  got  the  income,  we  are  all  in- 
clined to  make  increased  efforts  to  make  the  income  suf- 
ficiently large  to  stand  the  contribution  demanded  by  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  in  the  form  of  income  tax, 
without  diminishing  the  balance  remaining  for  the  in- 
come earner. 

To  ensure  the  highest  degree  of  efficiency  in  plant,  ma- 
chinery, and  all  the  mechanical  utilities  required  for  pro- 


INDUSTRIAL  ADMINISTRATION          183 

duction  and  distribution,  the  employer  requires  good  prof- 
its; and,  equally,  to  ensure  the  highest  degree  of  effi- 
ciency for  employees,  high  wages  and  reasonable  hours 
of  employment  are  necessary.  Good  profits  for  the  em- 
ployer enable  the  prompt  scrapping  of  old  plant  and  ma- 
chinery, and  the  installation  of  better  equipment,  to  be 
successfully  accomplished.  Equally,  high  wages  and 
reasonable  hours  for  the  employee  react  in  increasing  the 
physical  and  mental  tone  and  efficiency  of  the  worker. 
Therefore,  the  tendency  of  modern  conditions  is  to  bring 
the  interests  of  employers  and  employees  nearer  and 
nearer  together,  if  these  interests  are  rightly  understood, 
but  not  otherwise. 

And  what  are  the  problems  to  be  faced  ?  The  biggest 
problem  the  employer  has  to  face,  and  one  that  is  always 
present  with  him,  is  to  surround  himself  with  a  perma- 
nent efficient  staff,  happy  and  contented  in  their  employ- 
ment, who  will  not  only  work  for  him,  but,  what  is  much 
more  valuable,  will  work  with  him.  I  knew  a  manufac- 
turer in  America,  a  very  successful  man,  who  was  once 
asked  which  he  would  prefer — a  fire  that  burnt  out  his 
factory,  his  buildings,  machinery,  and  plant  to  total  ex- 
tinction, or  some  plague  or  epidemic  that  killed  off  his 
staff.  There  was  no  hesitation  in  the  answer,  which  was 
prompt  and  quick,  that  he  would  prefer  the  fire ;  because 
he  could  sooner  replace  the  factory,  buildings,  machinery, 
and  plant  than  he  could  get  together  another  staff;  be- 
sides, with  his  staff  remaining  to  him,  he  declared,  he 
could  worry  through  all  right  without  the  factory,  the 
plant,  and  machinery,  until  he  got  the  same  replaced. 
And  the  reason  for  this  preference  is  obvious.  An  effi- 
cient staff  is  a  staff  trained  to  their  duties,  and  this 
training  depends  upon  constant  repetition  in  perform- 
ance of  the  same  duties,  and  in  solving  the  same  problems 
of  the  business.  Repetition  is  the  basis  of  efficiency, 


184  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

which  can  only  be  achieved  as  the  result  of  long  service. 
Therefore,  one  of  the  principal  objects  of  the  employer 
must  be  to  attach  to  himself  an  efficient  staff;  but,  to 
ensure  this,  it  is  absolutely  essential  to  convince  the  em- 
ployee working  for  salary  or  wages  that  the  welfare  of 
the  employer  and  employee  are  identical.  We  are  all 
agreed  that,  to  ensure  ideal  conditions  and  an  ideal  rela- 
tionship between  employers  and  employees,  employment 
must  be  so  organized  that  profits  earned  shall  not  only  be 
sufficient  to  provide  good  living  conditions  for  the  em- 
ployees, and  a  reasonable  return  on  the  capital  invested 
for  the  employer,  but  shall  be  such  as  to  ensure  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  industry  and  the  contentment  and  sat- 
isfaction of  both  employers  and  employees.  Mere  desire 
to  attach  a  staff  to  a  particular  industry,  and  to  ensure 
long  service,  is  not  sufficient.  The  solution  of  this  prob- 
lem can  only  be  found  in  the  actual  working  conditions 
themselves,  and  until  these  working  conditions  are  ac- 
ceptable to  both  employers  and  employees,  neither  are  yet 
prepared  to  surrender  their  weapons  of  attack  and  de- 
fence, or  to  "beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares  and 
their  spears  into  pruning-hooks  "  in  order  the  better  to 
cultivate  a  larger  and  richer  harvest. 

The  gulf  at  present  separating  employers  and  em- 
ployees is  very  largely  a  misunderstanding  o^f  the  condi- 
tions affecting  each.  The  employee  has  an  exaggerated 
idea  of  the  volume  of  the  profits  produced  under  ordi- 
nary normal  conditions  of  the  industry  in  which  he  is 
engaged.  The  employer,  faced  with  demands  for  higher 
wages  and  knowing  the  competition  he  has  to  face,  is 
nervous  in  granting  advances  for  fear  his  small  margin 
of  profit  shall  be  turned  into  an  actual  loss.  As  you 
know,  a  minority  of  employers,  myself  included,  hold 
very  strongly  the  view  that  only  under  a  system  of  actual 
Co-Partner  ship  can  the  spirit  of  greed  and  fear  be  elimi- 


INDUSTRIAL  ADMINISTRATION          185 

nated  and  a  just  division  of  profits  as  between  employer 
and  employee  be  obtained. 

But  I  propose  that  we  devote  ourselves  to  the  consid- 
eration, not  of  Profit-Sharing  or  Co-Partnership,  which 
subject  I  have  dealt  with  elsewhere  as  fully  as  my  limited 
capacity  has  permitted  me,  but  rather  of  what,  for  want 
of  a  better  name,  I  propose  to  call  "  Industrial  Adminis- 
tration," and  of  those  principles  that  must  be  recognized 
if  there  are  to  be  any  profits  available  for  division.  But  I 
would  here  again  repeat  that  under  no  scheme  of  Co- 
Partnership  can  the  basic  principle  of  industrial  adminis- 
tration be  ignored  without  entailing  serious  injury  to  the 
employers  and  employees,  and  serious  limitations  to  the 
expansion  of  industries  and  actual  curtailment  of  both 
wages  and  profits. 

Now,  what  are  a  few  of  the  principles  that,  combined, 
must  form  and  under  all  circumstances  include  both  the 
employers'  point  of  view,  viz.,  good  profits,  with  the  em- 
ployees' point  of  view,  high  wages  and  reasonable  hours? 
The  chief  of  these  basic  principles  are  increased  produc- 
tion with  consequent  reduction  of  overhead  charges  and 
reduced  operating  costs,  combined  with  shorter  hours  for 
workers,  resulting  in  better  working  conditions,  leading 
to  greater  efficiency  and  producing  higher  wages  and  bet- 
ter profits.  To  ensure  the  attainment  of  these  aims  and 
objects  and  of  these  sound  economic  conditions,  and  as 
part  of  the  control  of  labour,  the  words  "  Scientific  Man- 
agement "  have  been  applied.  Unfortunately,  much  that 
is  preached  and  sometimes  practised  by  this  school  of  em- 
ployers is  neither  scientific  nor  worthy  of  the  name  of 
management.  But  underlying  all  the  error  of  this  school 
of  thought  are  some  good,  sound,  wholesome  practices. 
But  perhaps  a  less  stilted  and  less  irritating  title  would  be 
"  Industrial  Administration."  The  supreme  spirit  of 
scientific  management  worthy  of  that  description  must 


186  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

be  that  of  administration.  "  Management "  rarely  con- 
siders the  workman  other  than  from  the  point  of  view  of 
control,  and  to  thrust  the  antagonizing  spirit  of  control 
to  the  front  place,  as  so-called  "  Scientific  Management " 
would  appear  to  be  doing,  is  not  to  make  the  relations 
between  employers  and  employees  less  irritating,  but 
rather  the  contrary.  The  whole  idea  associated  with 
"  Management  "  is  that  of  control,  which  idea  has  em- 
balmed itself,  and  its  meaning,  in  the  name  "  boss." 
But  workmen  have  grown  and  developed  much  during 
the  last  quarter  century,  and  are  no  longer  blindly  con- 
senting to  be  "  bossed  "  or  controlled  as  if  they  were 
children.  Workmen  have  become  responsible  human  be- 
ings, and  claim  some  just  and  sane  share  in  the  manage- 
ment of  their  own  lives  and  conditions.  The  workman 
to-day  claims  rights,  and  does  not  deny  that  the  exercise 
of  rights  will  bring  with  it  the  responsibility  for  the 
performance  of  duties,  and  these  duties  he  is  willing  to 
undertake.  But  to  show  how  inapplicable  the  word 
"Management"  is,  it  is  obvious  that  you  cannot  have 
management  of  rights  nor  management  of  duties.  To 
show  the  better  applicability  of  the  word  "  Administra- 
tion," you  can  have  administration  of  rights  and  ad- 
ministration of  duties.  Therefore,  if  employers  and  em- 
ployees are  to  be  brought  to  work  together,  and  if  all 
suspicion  and  distrust,  not  to  say  actual  and  active  op- 
position, are  to  be  abolished,  then  the  idea  of  "  Manage- 
ment "  as  "  bossism  "  must  be  surrendered  by  the  em- 
ployer. 

At  this  point,  I  think  I  can  read  the  thoughts  of  many 
in  the  room,  who  will  be  wondering  whether  I  am  advo- 
cating the  surrender  of  all  discipline  in  Industrialism. 
Nothing  of  the  sort.  There  must  now,  and  for  all  time, 
be  authority  and  law  in  Industrialism  as  in  the  Army, 
and  as  in  all  places  where  communities  have  to  live  and 


INDUSTRIAL  ADMINISTRATION          187 

act  and  work  together.  Both  employer  and  employee 
must  agree  fully  and  without  reserve  in  this,  otherwise 
Industrialism  and  the  working  together  of  an  organized 
system  for  production  would  be  impossible,  and  mankind 
would  degenerate  into  a  mob. 

We  must  have  authority  and  law  and  due  observance 
of  discipline  in  the  factory  and  workshop  as  on  the 
steamship,  and  as  for  the  nation  and  State.  But  do  not 
let  us  confuse  ourselves  over  this  essential.  The  question 
is,  Has  the  authority  to  be  autocratic?  If  so,  have  your 
management  as  "  boss/'  and  endeavour  to  make  it  as 
scientific  as  possible.  Or  shall  the  authority  be  demo- 
cratic? In  that  case,  let  us  adopt  the  description  for  the 
authority  we  must  provide  that  best  fits  our  aims  and 
intentions,  viz.,  administration.  You  will  find  that  whilst 
the  dictionary  gives  "  control "  as  one  of  the  meanings 
of  management,  that  word  does  not  appear  as  one  of  the 
meanings  of  administration,  but  the  words  "to  direct," 
"to  dispense";  and  the  word  "guardian"  is  given  as  the 
meaning  of  the  word  "administrator."  These  latter  all 
form  a  good  democratic  basis,  and  the  necessity  for 
authority,  law,  discipline,  and  obedience,  under  these  con- 
ditions, is  at  once  admitted,  and  can  be  accepted  without 
humiliation  or  loss  of  self-respect,  when  "  bossism,"  even 
if  called  "  Scientific  Management,"  would  raise  a  spirit  of 
opposition  founded  on  the  resentment  we  all  feel  to  that 
very  idea  when  applied  to  ourselves. 

Scientific  Administration  we  would  all  welcome  as  ap- 
plying to  established  principles  supporting  the  laws  for 
the  working  together  of  hundreds,  or  thousands,  or  mil- 
lions of  men  and  women  in  productive  enterprises  for 
the  combined  benefit  of  employers,  employees,  and  of  the 
whole  community.  Scientific  Management  is  apt  to  be 
viewed  as  entirely  designed  to  increase  the  profits  and 
advantages  of  the  employer  at  the  expense  of  the  em- 


188  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

ployee,  whereas  Scientific  Administration  would  be  wel- 
comed as  merely  the  science  of  production  in  the  simplest, 
easiest  way  which  would  secure  the  highest  wages  and 
the  greatest  prosperity  for  employers  and  employees. 
Scientific  Administration  can  be  honestly  based  on  the  as- 
sumption that  the  interests  of  employers  and  employees 
are  identical,  and  opposition  thereto  can  only  be  pos- 
sible on  the  assumption  of  the  obvious  error  that  these 
interests  never  can  be  honestly  identical. 

Scientific  administration  will  make  clear  that  restric- 
tion of  output  is  not  only  immoral  for  the  man  who 
might  have  made  two  articles  but  who  only  made  one,  but 
that  he  has  thus  robbed  his  fellow-man  even  more  wick- 
edly than  the  thief  who  had  stolen  one  out  of  any  two 
articles  one  of  his  fellow-men  might  have  made;  for 
whilst,  in  the  case  of  the  robber,  there  would  still  be  the 
two  articles,  and  both  would  be  of  service,  there  would 
be  only  one  article  in  the  case  of  restriction  of  output, 
and  the  lapse  in  production  could  never  be  made  good. 

Parliament  has  intervened  to  prevent  the  thraldom  of 
labour  by  passing  Industrial  Acts,  limiting  hours  and 
conditions  of  labour,  fixing  rates  of  wages,  providing  for 
employers'  liability  for  the  safety  and  health  of  em- 
ployees, and  the  employers'  responsibility  for  accident, 
ill-health,  or  death  the  direct  result  of  employment.  And 
just  as  Parliament  has  made  these  laws  for  preventing 
the  thraldom  of  labour,  Parliament  may  also  be  forced  to 
pass  laws  to  prevent  restriction  of  output  as  an  act  of 
robbery  against  the  common  weal,  and,  as  an  act  of 
adulteration  of  service,  just  as  wrong  as  the  adulteration 
of  milk  or  any  article  of  food  or  commerce. 

Just  as  attempts  by  combinations  of  employers  to  cheat 
the  public  in  quality  and  price  have  been  met,  when  and 
where  attempted,  by  laws  to  prevent  the  same,  so  simi- 
lar attempts  by  combinations  of  Labour  to  cheat  their 


INDUSTRIAL  ADMINISTRATION          189 

fellow-men  by  restriction  of  output  must,  and  can  be, 
prevented  by  laws  directed  to  that  end. 

Such  a  state  of  affairs,  however,  need  never  arise, 
and  ought  never  to  arise,  if  the  whole  position  of  in- 
dustrial administration  is  properly  understood. 

The  employers'  contribution  to  the  world's  progress 
and  betterment  is  organization  of  mechanical  utilities 
and  machine  efficiency,  in  order  to  give  enormously  in- 
creased output.  Industrial  administration,  by  providing 
the  means  for  intensive  mechanical  production  by  in- 
creased steam-power  and  more  efficient  plant  and  ma- 
chinery, demanding  less  and  less  exhaustive  strain  on 
the  employees,  has  unlimited  opportunity  for  increased 
output  at  reduced  cost  after  paying  wages  on  the  high- 
est world's  scale;  and  this  can  all  be  accomplished  pro- 
vided the  fallacy  of  restriction  of  output  is  not  permitted 
to  spoil  the  working  of  these  economic  principles.  Me- 
chanical utilities,  mechanical  horse-power,  and  stand- 
ardization of  products  are  the  keystone  of  the  arch  of 
better  conditions  for  employer  and,  still  more  so,  of 
better  conditions  for  employee. 

High  wages  cannot  be  paid  without  correspondingly 
increased  output  by  employees.  Surely  the  employees' 
point  of  view  must  be  the  amount  of  wages  received,  the 
length  of  hours  worked,  and  the  strain  of  mind  and 
muscle  involved.  If  opportunity  of  earning  high  wages 
can  be  assured  in  a  reasonable  eight-hour  day  without 
strain  or  exhaustion,  then  the  amount  of  product  need 
not  worry  the  employee.  The  employee  cannot  in  his 
own  interest  wisely  assume  an  attitude  of  approval  of  re- 
striction of  output. 

Under  these  conditions,  industrial  administration 
scientifically  applied  will  provide  that  the  profits  result- 
ing from  the  enormously  increased  output  are  not  all  to 
go  as  dividends  on  the  capital  employed,  but  shall  be 


190  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

shared  in   fair  and  equitable  proportion  between  both 
Capital  and  Labour. 

Let  us  see  if  practical  examples  of  the  effect  of  a  high 
scale  of  output  with  high  mechanical  horse-power  per 
wage-earner  can  be  given  as  showing  the  direct  bearing 
and  connection  on  high  wages  and  shorter  hours,  for  the 
workman.  The  lowest  output  and  the  longest  working 
hours  per  wage-earner  in  the  world  are  to  be  found  in 
China  and  India;  and  in  these  countries  there  is  also  the 
lowest  mechanical  horse-power  per  wage-earner  and  the 
lowest  wages  earned  per  wage-earner.  The  example  of 
the  highest  of  all  these  will  be  found  in  the  United  States. 
Let  us  compare  these  with  the  same  in  the  United  King- 
dom. Mechanical  horse-power  per  wage-earner  in  China 
or  India  is  so  low  as  to  be  negligible.  The  mechanical 
horse-power  per  wage-earner  in  the  United  States,  as 
given  in  Government  records  of  industrial  production,  is 
two  to  three  times  that  of  the  United  Kingdom.  The 
value  of  the  product  per  wage-earner  per  year  in  the 
United  States  is  also  found  to  be  two  to  three  times  that 
of  the  wage-earner  in  the  United  Kingdom.  And  how 
do  the  wages  paid  per  wage-earner  compare  under  these 
conditions?  In  India  and  China  the  average  wages  do 
not  exceed,  for  unskilled  labour,  43.  per  week,  and  for 
skilled  labour  6s.  per  week.  The  weekly  wages  in  the 
United  Kingdom  and  the  United  States  for  the  year 
1912,  being  the  latest  year  available  for  comparison,  are 
stated  to  be: — 

U.K.  U.S.A. 

Carpenters  £2,    o    o  £g    o    o 

Foundrymen    £210  £900 

Builders'  labourers  . . .     £i     6    o  £600 

Other  skilled  labour  ..£200  £640 

Other  unskilled  labour     £120  £2  n     o 


INDUSTRIAL  ADMINISTRATION          191 

Of  course,  the  rates  of  wages  vary  in  different  parts  of 
the  United  States,  as  in  various  parts,  of  the  United 
Kingdom,  and  these  figures  are  merely  quoted  as  illus- 
trations, and  subject  to  such  variations.  Hence,  whilst 
in  the  United  States  the  mechanical  horse-power  is  two 
to  three  times  per  wage-earner  of  that  per  wage-earner 
in  the  United  Kingdom,  and  the  output  is  also  .two  to 
three  times  of  that  per  wage-earner  in  the  United  King- 
dom, the  wages  in  the  highly  skilled  trades  in  the  United 
States  are  over  four  times  per  wage-earner  of  those  paid 
in  the  United  Kingdom,  and  in  the  less  skilled  trades 
over  three  times,  and  the  unskilled  labour  two  to  four 
times  that  of  the  same  grade  of  wage-earner  in  the 
United  Kingdom. 

Now  let  us  see  if  we  can  find  a  direct  example  of  re- 
duced output  per  wage-earner  in  the  United  Kingdom  as 
compared  with  the  same  industry  and  increased  output 
in  the  United  States.  We  can  find  this  example  most 
readily  in  the  statistics  relating  to  coal,  and  whether  this 
reduction  of  output  in  the  United  Kingdom  has  been 
brought  about  by  the  "ca'  canny"  policy  in  the  restric- 
tion of  output  or  not  is  quite  immaterial  to  the  point  it 
illustrates.  I  do  not  know,  not  being  connected  with  the 
coal  industry,  how  the  reduced  production  in  the  United 
Kingdom  is  to  be  accounted  for,  and  I  make  no  attempt 
at  guessing ;  but  whatever  the  cause  may  have  been  does 
not  affect  the  resulting  injury  to  the  consumer  and  the 
industries  of  this  country  in  competition  with  the  rest  of 
the  world. 

TONS  OF  COAL  PRODUCED  PER  WAGE-EARNER  PER  ANNUM 

U.K.    U.S.A. 

1886-90 312     400 

1911  260     613 


192  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

VALUE  AT  THE  PIT  MOUTH 

1886-90    45.  lod.     6s.   4d. 

IQII    8s.    id.     55.  lod. 

So  that  we  see  in  the  United  States  by  increased  me- 
chanical horse-power,  combined  with  increased  output, 
the  cost  of  coal  to  the  consumer  has  been  reduced,  and 
the  employers  have  been  enabled  to  pay  more  than  two 
to  three  times  the  rate  of  wages  per  wage-earner  in 
mines,  as  in  all  other  industries  in  the  United  States, 
that  can  be  paid  in  the  United  Kingdom.  Let  me  point 
out  that  these  rates  and  statistics  are  all  pre-war  rates 
and  subject  to  pre-war  conditions.  This  increased  cost 
of  coal  does  not  benefit  either  employer  or  employee, 
and  certainly  injures  the  consumer.  In  fact,  under  these 
conditions,  the  employer  (or  capitalist)  in  the  United 
States  also  makes  better  returns  on  his  capital  than  his 
fellow-employer  in  the  United  Kingdom.  But  the  trag- 
edy of  it  is  that  it  makes  the  cost  of  cooking,  heating, 
and  lighting  oppressive  for  the  wage-earner,  and  creates 
a  handicap  to  every  British  industry  that  uses  coal,  mak- 
ing the  cost  of  production  of  all  articles  higher.  It 
threatens  our  iron  and  steel  industries  and,  with  them, 
our  world  supremacy  in  shipbuilding  and  our  mer- 
cantile marine,  upon  which  we  absolutely  depend  for  our 
very  existence  as  a  nation. 

And  now  let  me  give  you  figures  of  our  greatest  na- 
tional industry  of  all — a  national  industry  which  is  even 
greater  than  the  iron,  steel,  and  coal  industries  added 
together,  viz.,  agriculture.  In  this  industry  restriction  of 
output  is  unknown.  The  farmer  has  a  free  hand  in  the 
cultivation  of  his  crops  and  the  rearing  of  his  live  stock. 
If  we  examine  the  pedigree  of  the  live  stock  that  is  most 
highly  prized  all  over  the  world,  whether  of  horses, 


INDUSTRIAL  ADMINISTRATION          193 

cattle,  pigs,  sheep,  or  whatever  it  may  be,  we  find  the 
pedigree  of  this  stock  British;  and  if  we  turn  to  crops 
per  acre  we  shall  again  see  that  British  farmers,  un- 
trammelled by  restriction  of  output,  hold  the  highest 
place  in  their  productive  enterprise  of  any  nation  in  the 
world.  We  will  compare  the  four  leading  agricultural 
products  in  the  three  leading  nations. 

QUINTALS  PER  ACRE,  1913-14 

Wheat.  Barley.  Oats.  Potatoes. 

United  Kingdom  .         10.0        8.4  7.6        64 

United  States 4.4        5.5  4.4        29.4 

Germany    8.0        8.0  8.4        54 

And  we  must  not  overlook  the  fact  that,  in  obtaining 
this  high  production,  our  agricultural  industry  has  had 
to  submit  to  the  handicap  of  underpaid,  underfed  labour, 
backward  position  in  mechanical  appliances,  and  lack  of 
knowledge  of  the  science  of  chemistry  as  applied  to 
soils  and  fertilizers. 

Just  as  we  have  seen  that  the  highest  proportion  of 
mechanical  horse-power  per  wage-earner,  aided  by 
science  in  administration,  has  raised  the  rate  of  wages 
in  all  industries,  so  when  we  get  these  modern  aids  ap- 
plied to  British  agriculture,  so  surely  will  the  cost  of 
production  be  reduced  by  still  further  increased  output, 
with  greatly  increased  wages  to  labour  and  better  re- 
turns to  the  farmer.  The  low  wages  of  labour  in 
agriculture  have  been  a  handicap  in  every  way  to  the 
farmer  by  greatly  reducing  the  efficiency  of  his  labour 
and  the  attractiveness  of  farm  work  to  the  wage-earner. 
He  has  had  to  stand  impotently  by  and  see  his  best 
labour  leave  the  country  and  seek  the  higher  rate  of 
pay  obtainable  in  the  town  and  city. 


194  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

We  see  clearly  what  an  awful  blunder  for  the  Em- 
pire the  policy  of  restriction  of  output  proves  itself  to 
be.  Where  high  mechanical  horse-power  per  wage- 
earner  is  found,  there  the  greatest  output  per  wage- 
earner  exists  side  by  side  with  the  highest  scale  of  wages. 
Restriction  of  output  is  not  only  an  economic  fallacy 
but  is  the  robbery,  by  the  worker,  of  his  mates  of  their 
rightful  due  in  wages,  food,  clothing,  houses,  and  wel- 
fare conditions.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  Trade  Union 
official  to  fight  this  false  doctrine  with  all  his  strength 
and  might;  and  I  say  this  because  I  know,  and  I  am 
convinced  by  a  lifelong  friendship  and  acquaintance 
with  Trade  Unions,  that  they  have  one  sincere  aim  and 
object  which  they  pursue  with  devotion — the  welfare  of 
the  wage-earner. 

There  is  nothing  in  mechanical  horse-power,  new  and 
improved  machinery,  producing  enormously  increased 
output,  to  incur  the  opposition  and  enmity  of  Trade 
Unions.  If  it  pays,  as  it  does,  scientific  administration  to 
scrap  obsolete  plant,  buildings,  and  machinery  (and  we 
know  that  there  is  no  scrapping  and  destruction  of  ob- 
solete property  which  will  not,  in  the  long  run,  prove 
immensely  profitable  when  it  represents  the  price  to  be 
paid  for  superior  and  more  efficient  methods),  then 
similarly  it  may  be  said  with  equal  truth  that  it  will 
pay  the  wage-earner  to  scrap  obsolete,  false  economic 
methods  and  worn-out  policies.  And  first  of  all  of 
these  policies  to  be  scrapped  ought  to  be  that  of  re- 
striction of  output. 

There  is  a  much  broader  sphere  for  the  operations  of 
Trade  Unions,  providing  ample  work  for  many  years 
to  come,  in  bettering  the  industrial  conditions,  of  this 
country.  The  scrapping  of  the  policy  of  "  ca'  canny," 
or  restriction  of  output,  will  give  all  the  more  liberty  and 
power  for  the  advancement  of  these  higher  aims  and 


INDUSTRIAL  ADMINISTRATION          195 

activities;  and,  in  addition,  this  broader,  better  outlook 
and  higher  activities  for  Trade  Unionism  will  prove  to 
the  world  that  Trade  Unions  are  fighting  not  only  for  the 
betterment  of  the  workers,  but  are  considering  the  in- 
terests of  the  consumer  and  of  the  British  Empire  in  com- 
petition with  all  other  nations  in  the  world. 

When  the  British  public  are  convinced  that  the  good 
of  the  community  as  a  whole,  and  the  progress  and 
strength  of  the  British  Empire  in  competition  with  all 
nations  of  the  world,  are  also  receiving  the  attention  and 
special  care  of  Trade  Unions,  then  woe  to  the  capitalist 
or  employer  who  attempts  to  oppose  any  just  demands 
made  for  the  furtherance  of  these  aims  and  objects. 

The  times  are  changed,  thank  God!  from  when,  in 
1858,  Ruskin  addressed  these  sentences  to  a  British 
audience  as  being  the  then  thoughts  of  Capital  and  of 
the  general  public  towards  Labour: — 

"  Be  assured,  my  good  man,"  you  say  to  him,  "  that  if  you 
work  steadily  for  ten  hours  a  day  all  your  life,  and  if  you 
drink  nothing  but  water,  or  the  very  mildest  beer,  and  live 
on  very  plain  food,  and  never  lose  your  temper,  and  go  to 
church  every  Sunday,  and  always  remain  content  in  the 
position  in  which  Providence  has  placed  you,  and  never 
grumble,  nor  swear,  and  always  keep  your  clothes  decent, 
and  rise  early,  and  use  every  opportunity  of  improving 
yourself,  you  will  get  on  very  well,  and  never  come  to  the 
parish." 

Ruskin's  biting  sarcasm,  passed  without  effecting  any 
material  change;  but  what  biting  sarcasm  has  failed  to 
bring  home  to  the  intelligence  of  employers  and  the 
public  may,  perhaps,  be  learned  by  both  from  our  com- 
mon necessities  in  the  evolution  of  industrialism. 

When  peace  comes,   bringing  us  victory  over  our 


196  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

enemies  and  giving  us  rest  from  the  clash  of  arms,  we 
shall  still  have  to  enter  the  field  of  struggle  for  com- 
mercial position  amongst  the  nations  of  the  world.  It 
is  unthinkable  that  we  and  our  Allies,  proving  victorious 
in  this  cruel  war,  fighting  for  right  and  liberty,  justice 
and  freedom,  should  be  defeated  in  the  struggle  for  in- 
dustrial position  by  our  present  enemies  and  Neutral 
nations.  And  yet  defeat  is  certain  if  our  industrial  or- 
ganization is  founded  on  attempted  oppression  of  Labour 
on  the  one  hand  or  restriction  of  output  by  Labour  on 
the  other  hand. 

Our  victorious  Army  has  been  drawn  from  all  classes, 
from  the  highest  to  the  most  humble  in  the  land,  who 
have  been  loyal  and  true  comrades  in  the  trenches,  and 
it  is  unthinkable  that  when  the  war  is  over  industrial 
antagonism  should  prevent  the  Empire  maintaining  her 
former  proud  commercial  position.  Let  both  employer 
and  employee  scrap  their  old,  antiquated,  false  ideas  as  to 
their  mutual  relationships,  and  work  with  a  better  under- 
standing of  each  other's  rights  and  duties,  recognizing 
that  this  good  old  world  is  far  too  small  to  hold  any 
more  than  two  classes  in  the  classification  of  people,  viz., 
those  who  do  their  duty  and  those  who  fail  to  do  their 
duty.  It  is  certain  that  in  the  next  world  there  will  be 
only  these  two  classes,  whatever  artificial  divisions  be- 
tween employer  and  employee  may  have  existed  in  this 
world. 


XII 

THE  WORKERS'  INTEREST  IN  PRODUCTIVITY 

WE  have  all  of  us  ideals,  and  the  following  of  our  ideals 
brings  us  into  contact  with  many  aspects  of  life,  but  we 
are  conscious  that  the  only  part  worth  living  of  our  lives 
is  following  those  ideals;  and  I  know  every  one  of  us 
in  this  room  realizes  that  fact,  and  that  we  are  all 
anxious  to  do  everything  we  can  to  realize  our  ideals. 
We  recognize,  fully  and  completely,  that  present  con- 
ditions are  not  right.  When  we  talk  of  Labour  Unrest, 
then  I  say,  if  Labour  were  quiet  under  present  condi- 
tions it  would  be  a  bad  look-out  for  this  country  fifty 
years  from  now.  The  healthiest  signs  we  have  got 
to-day  are  Labour  Unrest  and  all  the  aspirations  of 
Labour — and  I  may  be  allowed  to  use  the  word  "  la- 
bour,'* because  I  think  I  have  worked  as  hard  as  any 
one  in  this  room,  and  have  done  so  all  my  life. 

As  an  ideal,  we  see  urged  on  some  hands  that  the 
confiscation  of  all  the  wealth  to-day,  the  cancellation 
of  all  the  war  loans  and  so  on,  would  be  a  short-cut 
to  a  more  equal  enjoyment  by  Labour  of  all  that  wealth 
can  place  within  the  reach  of  each  of  us.  Believe  me, 
that  is  a  delusion.  If  all  the  money  possessed  by  each 
of  us  here  in  this  room  to-night  were  placed  on  this  table 
and  pooled  and  divided  out  equally  to  us  as  we  left  the 
room,  the  only  result  that  such  division  could  have 
would  be  this,  that  those  who  had  been  thrifty  and 
worked  hard,  and  had  saved  a  little  money,  would  be 
asking  themselves  to-morrow,  knowing  that  the  same 

197 


198  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

process  would  require  to  be  repeated  over  and  over 
again,  Why  should  they  live  laborious  days  and  deny 
themselves  enjoyments  and  luxuries  when  this  was  the 
only  result?  And,  equally,  those  who  had  received 
money  that  they  had  not  worked  for  would  feel  that  this 
and  future  divisions  would  abolish  the  necessity  of  their 
working  to-morrow  and  their  practice  of  thrift  to-mor- 
row, so  that  both  sections  of  us  in  this  room  would  go 
away  discouraged  from  the  exercise  of  our  full  ability 
for  work  and  thrift. 

There  can  be  no  other  way  in  which  we  can  get  greater 
comfort  and  happiness  for  each  of  us  than  by  produc- 
ing more  goods.  That  is  the  keynote  of  all,  and  there 
is  no  reason  why  in  the  production  of  more  goods  we 
should  not  do  so  on  such  lines  as  will  ensure  a  more 
equal  distribution  of  the  result  of  our  labour,  because 
that  is  what  we  do  want.  Well,  we  are  apt  to  think  that 
unless  there  is  going  to  be  a  more  equal  distribution  of 
wealth,  there  is  something  in  the  distribution  at  fault, 
and  we  are  quite  right  in  considering  in  what  way  we 
can  deal  with  the  problem  and  rectify  abuses.  Now,  the 
only  way  in  which  we  can  increase  wages — because  that 
is  the  first  step  to  advancement — is  by  increasing  pro- 
duction. The  only  way  in  which  we  can  soundly  in- 
crease production  is  by  employing  more  machinery.  The 
only  way  in  which  we  can  make  a  demand,  a  consuming 
demand,  for  this  increased  production  is  by  cheapening 
the  product,  otherwise,  no  matter  what  the  wages  are, 
the  price  of  the  product  is  so  high  that,  as  we  are  feel- 
ing now  in  war-time,  the  extra  wages  are  of  very  little 
increased  value.  And,  finally — and  here  is  where  I  want 
to  lay  great  emphasis — you  cannot  increase  demand 
greatly,  notwithstanding  that  you  have  raised  wages,  not- 
withstanding that  you  have  cheapened  the  product,  unless 
you  have  elevated  and  increased  the  wants  of  the  people. 


WORKERS'  INTEREST  IN  PRODUCTIVITY      199 

You  have  to  increase  wants.  You  can  only  raise  their 
wants  by  giving  them  more  leisure.  I  believe  that  re- 
duced hours  of  labour  and  more  leisure  for  a  proper 
outlook  on  life  are  as  essential  to  an  increased  consump- 
tion of  articles  that  can  be  produced  as  is  a  cheaper  cost. 
Now,  we  will  imagine,  for  instance,  that  away  in  the 
Congo  we  talked  of  greatly  increasing  the  production 
of,  say  calico.  I  have  been  through  the  Congo;  the  na- 
tive there  has  few  or  no  wants.  A  piece  of  calico  the 
size  of  a  towel  makes  a  full  dress  suit  for  the  husband; 
another  piece  the  same  size  makes  the  full  dress  suit 
for  the  wife,  and  the  children  need  no  dress  at  all.  Now, 
if  we  were  to  produce  any  quantity  of  calico,  as  soon 
as  these  simple  wants  were  satisfied  there  would  be  no 
demand  for  the  remainder.  We  would  have  to  start  in 
the  Congo  by  first  of  all  inspiring  in  men  and  women 
a  love  for  more  clothing — blouses,  skirts,  trousers,  coats, 
and  so  on;  and  for  houses  that  required  table-cloths, 
sheets,  curtains  to  the  windows  and  all  the  rest  that 
makes  for  comfort,  and  then  we  would  find  that  with 
these  new  wants  came  such  a  demand  that  however  much 
calico  we  could  produce  in  reason,  it  would  be  all  re- 
quired and  all  be  sold.  Now,  I  believe  as  firmly  that 
the  workmen  of  this  country — I  have  endeavoured  to 
practise  it  in  my  own  limited  way — have  as  much  right 
to  an  artistic  home,  a  comfortable  home  in  a  garden, 
with  all  the  amenities  of  life,  as  their  employer.  Now, 
I  say  that  that  is  the  first  essential  to  the  enjoyment  of 
this  leisure.  What  use  is  it  talking  to  a  workman  about 
a  nice  artistic  home  with  pictures  or  engravings  on  the 
wall,  taste  shown  in  everything,  when  he  only  comes  home 
to  sleep  and  to  rest  for  the  next  day,  leaves  early,  and 
his  only  time  at  home  is  an  occasional  Sunday?  You 
won't  raise  a  taste  for  an  artistic  home  under  these 
conditions.  Art  flourishes  only  where  there  is  leisure  and 


200  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

all  that  art  means,  in  increased  demand  for  books  and 
everything  that  makes  for  comfort,  and,  believe  me,  re- 
duced hours  of  labour  are  essential  for  increased  de- 
mand. 

Now,  if  we  have  such  a  production  that  wages  can  be 
raised,  a  greater  volume  of  articles  produced,  costing 
less  money,  and  increased  demand  to  sell  them  off  as 
fast  as  they  are  produced,  that  is  an  ideal  and  it  is  worth 
striving  for.  We  can  only  achieve  this  with  machinery. 
There  must  be  no  antipathy  to  enlarged  output  by  ma- 
chinery, and  believe  me,  wage  increases  then  would  be- 
come quite  a  matter  of  secondary  importance.  You  know 
that  there  is  automatic  machinery  in  which  the  wages 
of  the  operator,  however  high,  are  a  very  small  part  of 
the  cost  of  production.  The  great  part  of  cost  of  pro- 
duction is  interest,  depreciation,  repairs  and  renewals, 
and  the  cost  of  the  central  power  station  for  running  the 
machinery.  Now,  we  have  these  machines,  and  if  we  are 
wanting  a  greater  increased  output  we  are  simultane- 
ously wanting  more  ships  and  we  are  wanting  more 
machinery  for  the  ships;  and  how  can  we  in  the 
next  few  years  duplicate  our  machinery  for  factories? 
All  our  men  will  be  wanted  on  shipbuilding,  house-build- 
ing, and  repairing  of  the  devastation  of  war;  but  we  can 
run  our  existing  machinery  double  time,  and  it  will  not 
cost  us  anything  more  for  interest,  for  depreciation;  only 
a  little  more  for  raising  steam  in  the  boiler,  a  little  more 
for  oil,  a  little  more  for  repairs,  and  we  get  all  that  in- 
creased production,  with  just  those  trifling  expenses. 
Labour  working  six  hours  a  day,  as  has  been  proved  over 
and  over  again,  can  produce  in  six  hours  the  maximum 
it  is  capable  of  in  monotonous  occupations.  We  shall, 
therefore,  be  able  to  pay  for  six  hours*  work  at  least  the 
same  rate  of  pay  as  we  pay  for  eight,  because  labour  will 
be  capable  of  as  much  work  in  six  as  in  eight  hours.  The 


WORKERS'  INTEREST  IN  PRODUCTIVITY     201 

machinery  will  produce  more,  and  out  of  this  combined 
effort,  the  human  element  working  two  shifts  of  six  hours 
each,  the  mechanical  element  working  twelve  hours,  or 
more,  we  shall  have  two  funds  created,  one  for  reducing 
the  price  of  the  article  and  another  for  increasing  the 
wages  on  the  top  of  the  reduction  of  hours. 

These  results  are  certain,  provided  we  have  the  demand 
for  the  goods  when  they  are  produced.  Apart  from  ex- 
port trade,  which  we  shall  be  bound  to  cultivate,  and 
which  is  an  enormous  trade  and  one  which  -we  can 
make  still  greater,  we  must  have  the  increased 
demand  from  the  home  trade,  and  that  I  believe  the 
six-hour  day,  by  giving  us  more  leisure,  will  ensure 
to  us.  Now,  why  do  I  talk  so  positively  about  this  ?  Do 
you  know  that  we  find  all  over  the  world  that  wages  are 
the  highest  where,  per  capita  of  the  people,  the  greatest 
amount  of  machinery  is  in  existence  and  in  employment 
— the  wages  are  the  highest  there — and  as  a  result  the 
wealth  invested  in  machinery  in  these  countries  has  al- 
ways an  ever-increasing  force  compelling  it  to  still  fur- 
ther similar  investment  in  that  direction  because  it  pays. 
In  the  United  States  the  capital  per  head  in  machinery 
is  the  highest  of  anywhere  in  the  world,  and  wages  there, 
as  we  know,  before  the  war  and  maybe  even  to-day,  were 
the  highest  also.  In  China  and  India  the  amount  in- 
vested in  machinery  is  the  lowest  of  any  countries  in  the 
world,  and  the  wages  are  the  lowest.  And,  curiously 
enough,  it  was  India,  where  the  cotton  is  grown,  where  the 
men  in  the  cotton-mill  get  pence  a  day — eightpence  and 
ninepence  a  day — and  where  native  engineers  when  I  was 
last  in  that  part  of  the  world  were  only  getting  nine- 
pence  a  day — it  was  India,  that  grows  the  cotton,  and 
where  labour  works  long  hours  for  these  low  wages,  that 
within  this  very  year,  only  a  few  months  ago,  appealed  to 
the  British  Parliament  to  be  protected — from  whom? 


202  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

From  people  working  longer  hours  and  being  paid  less 
money?  No;  but  from  Lancashire,  where  the  workers 
receive  more  shillings  per  day  than  the  Hindoo  receives 
pence,  and  where  they  work  less  hours,  and  where  they 
have  to  pay  freight  on  the  cotton  from  India  to  Lanca- 
shire, make  it  into  goods,  and  again  pay  freight  to  send 
it  back  to  India.  So  that  higher  wages  go  with  machinery 
and  lower  cost  of  production,  and  lower  wages  and  less 
machinery  go  with  higher  cost  of  production  and  strangle 
any  attempt  to  raise  and  uplift  labour,  as  we  see  in 
India. 

Now,  I  think  we  can  claim  at  this  point  that  all  em- 
ployers must  abandon  their  idea  that  low  wages  mean 
cheap  production  and  high  profits,  and  I  think  the  work- 
man must  equally  abandon  his  idea  that  limited  produc- 
tion means  more  labour  employed  and  at  higher  wages. 
They  are  both  wrong,  and  two  wrongs  do  not  make 
one  right. 

Now  then,  can  we  arrive  at  a  prospect  of  some  direc- 
tion in  which  we  can  work  to  lift  the  workers  ?  We  want 
more  capital  invested  in  labour-saving  machinery  to  give 
us  increased  output,  higher  wages,  shorter  hours,  reduced 
cost  of  production,  and  we  want  to  eliminate  the  element 
of  fatigue  by  the  reduced  hours  of  labour  as  well. 

Now,  there  is  a  theory,  and  you  know  the  theory  as 
well  as  I,  that  labour  produces  all  wealth.  It  was  started 
by  Adam  Smith,  and  is  worshipped  by  many  to-day. 
If  that  were  true,  don't  you  think  that  the  Manchester 
Ship  Canal,  and  other  undertakings  that  I  could  mention, 
would  be  veritable  gold  mines?  In  the  making  of  a 
canal  the  cost  is  practically  all  labour — digging — it  is 
practically  all  labour,  and  yet  we  know  that  the  original 
shareholders  in  the  Manchester  Ship  Canal,  instead  of 
making  wealth,  have  never  seen  a  penny  return  on  their 
capital  in  the  last  thirty  years.  If  the  theory  were  true, 


WORKERS'  INTEREST  IN  PRODUCTIVITY     203 

not  only  would  the  Manchester  Ship  Canal  be  a  veritable 
gold  mine,  but  the  mere  act  of  loading  a  ship,  which  is 
the  greatest  labour,  I  imagine,  in  connection  with  ship- 
ping, and  the  mere  act  of  shovelling  the  coal  on  the  boiler 
fires,  which  is,  perhaps,  in  many  parts  of  the  world  a 
still  more  laborious  piece  of  work,  ought  to  ensure  a 
profit  on  the  voyage,  but  we  know  they  do  not.  We  know 
that  profits  are  not  made  because  of  the  labour  of  load- 
ing the  ship  or  merely  putting  coal  upon  the  fire.  The 
men  who  can  make  money  are  few.  They  are  less  than 
one  per  thousand  who  can  make  money  at  all  other  than 
by  the  receipt  of  wages  for  employment.  They  are  less 
than  one  in  a  hundred  thousand  in  the  very  high  under- 
takings, and  in  the  highest  undertakings  of  all  they  are 
fewer  than  one  in  a  million  who  can  organize  large  under- 
takings to  make  money.  This  good  old  world  has  only 
produced  one  Ford,  one  Rockefeller,  one  Carnegie.  I 
know  these  men  are  held  up  to  odium  because  it  is  the 
fashion.  Let  us  see  if  they  deserve  it.  Don't  you  think 
it  was  just  as  sensible  of  the  old  man  who  blew  the  organ 
to  say  that  he  produced  the  music  as  to  say  that  it  is 
labour  that  is  the  source  of  all  wealth?  I  like  this  illus- 
tration, because  it  is  quite  obvious  that  if  the  man  ceases 
blowing  the  organ  there  will  be  no  music ;  but  it  is  equally 
true  that  he  may  blow  the  organ  as  much  and  as  labori- 
ously as  he  likes,  and  that  unless  there  is  some  one  there 
to  play  and  touch  the  notes  with  discrimination  and  skill 
there  would  be  no  music.  And  when  we  search  how  these 
fortunes  have  been  made  by  the  three  men  I  mention  and 
by  all  others,  what  do  we  find?  We  find  that  fortunes 
have  only  been  made  by  producing  goods  cheaper  and 
selling  them  cheaper,  and  by  increasing  the  rate  of  wages 
paid  to  the  worker  and  reducing  the  hours  of  labour. 

Take  Ford's  cars,  for  example.     Ford  started  as  a 
young  man,  and  I  think  his  first  occupation  was  on  a 


204  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

farm — his  father's  farm.  Then  he  got  an  idea  that  he 
could  make  a  motor  that  would  do  a  lot  of  the  farm 
work;  just  the  idea  that  he  is  putting  into  practice  now, 
thirty  years  later.  He  had  thought  on  the  farm,  and  he 
wondered  if  he  could  not  make  a  motor  to  do  a  lot  of  the 
work  on  the  farm,  and  he  told  his  wife  he  would  go  to 
Detroit  and  see  some  of  the  machines;  so  he  went.  He 
was  a  fairly  successful  farmer  and  he  was  making  a  fair 
sum  of  money.  He  closed  down  his  farm,  and  he  and  his 
wife  moved  to  Detroit,  and  he  engaged  himself  as  engi- 
neer on  the  night  shift  to  look  after  the  Edison  plant  for 
lighting  the  city  of  Detroit,  at  something  like  a  quarter 
of  what  he  had  been  making  as  a  farmer.  He  was  quite 
content;  he  had  made  up  his  mind  he  would  get  to  the 
bottom,  as  far  as  he  could,  of  the  electrical  problem; 
he  found  he  would  have  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  elec- 
tricity to  make  his  motor,  and  he  worked  on  and  on,  and 
you  know  the  result.  Now,  does  any  man  begrudge  Ford 
his  five  millions  sterling  a  year  that  he  is  making? 
Fancy,  that  is  £  100,000  every  week.  Does  any  one  be- 
grudge it?  If  any  do  I  could  imagine  them  saying  to 
themselves — they  would  say  it  truthfully,  I  know — some- 
thing like  this :  "  It  is  true  Ford  serves  the  public  with  a 
cheap  car  and,  for  the  price,  a  good  car.  It  is  true  Ford 
serves  his  workers  in  his  factories  well,  because  he  pays 
them  double  wages;  in  fact,  he  starts  a  boy  fresh  from 
school  at  a  pound  a  day.  But,  but,  but,  Mr.  Ford,  you 
make  too  much  money;  you  give  the  public  cheap  cars, 
you  pay  double  wages  in  your  factories,  but  you  make 
too  much  money  for  yourself;  that  is  our  objection." 
Well,  what  would  happen?  Would  other  men  be  en- 
couraged to  emulate  Ford's  example  if,  after  all  this  toil 
of  leaving  the  farm,  working  for  a  quarter  of  the  wage 
while  he  mastered  the  subject,  all  this  laborious  work,  he 
and  his  wife  (a  loyal  and  true  wife,  as  every  successful 


WORKERS'  INTEREST  IN  PRODUCTIVITY     205 

man  has  always  had)  working  together — if  the  result  of 
all  that  was  to  be  told  that  he  was  making  too  much 
money?  You  might  as  well  tell  some  of  his  men  who 
were  drawing  double  pay  that  they  were  making  too  much 
money.  The  result  would  be  the  race  of  Fords  would  die 
out,  cars  would  cost  the  public  more  money,  the  wages  to 
workmen  would  fall  to  the  lowest  Trade  Union  rate — 
that  is,  to  half  the  rate  Ford  is  paying — and  the  future 
Fords  would  have  hard  work  to  make  bare  in- 
terest on  their  capital.  It  would  operate  against  all 
three. 

Now,  let  us  imagine  a  scene  at  Ford's  works.  We  will 
imagine  that  his  20,000  or  so  operatives — I  am  not  sure 
how  many  he  has,  but  we  will  say  20,000,  it  may  be 
40,000 — read  in  the  paper,  the  local  paper,  that  Ford 
has  made  five  million  pounds  sterling,  twenty-five  million 
dollars,  the  year  before,  and  they  have  discussed  that 
fact  the  night  before,  and  they  have  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  Mr.  Ford  is  making  far  too  much  and  have 
decided  that  they  will  go  and  interview  him,  because 
"  labour  creates  all  wealth,"  say  they,  "  Adam  Smith  told 
us  so,  and,  therefore,  this  money  is  not  Ford's ;  we  make 
that  money,  we  ought  to  have  it."  They  go  and  wait  on 
Ford  and  they  lay  their  case  before  him  fairly,  perfectly 
fairly.  Now  we  will  imagine  his  reply.  Now,  Ford  I 
imagine  would  say  this :  "  Now,  my  men,  I  don't  want 
you  to  make  a  penny  of  this  money  for  me.  Go  right 
away  and  make  it  for  some  other  motor  man,  one  of  my 
competitors,  who  cannot  make  money  for  himself,  who  is 
perhaps  losing  money.  Leave  me  right  away  and  go  and 
engage  with  that  man;  he  will  give  you  nearly  all  the 
profit ;  he  is  losing  money  now  or  making  none.  You  can 
make  your  own  terms  with  him.  He  will  give  you  at 
least  nine-tenths  of  the  profit,  because  if  he  got  a  tenth 
he  would  be  content.  You  go  and  make  him  five  millions 


206  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

and  he  will  give  you  nine-tenths,  or  he  will  give  you  even 
more — perhaps  he  will  give  you  nineteen-twentieths,  per- 
haps even  ninety-nine  one-hundredths  of  it;  but  you  can 
make  your  own  terms  with  him.  You  will  get  splendid 
terms  from  him ;  in  fact,  you  can  dictate  your  own  terms. 
As  to  myself,  those  men  who  will  be  sacked  from  this 
motor  man  who  is  not  making  money,  why,  I  will  engage 
them;  it  will  be  merely  a  change  over.  You  men  who 
are  making  my  money  will  go  and  make  it  for  these 
other  people ;  their  workmen  will  come  and  work  for  me 
and  I  will  pay  them  double  wages  as  I  am  paying  you,  and 
I  will  see  if  I  cannot  make  as  much  money  without  you 
as  with  you.  I  will  put  them  in  my  factory  and  they  can 
work  for  me.  I  do  not  want  discontented  men.  I  will 
engage  these  men,  who  will  be  perfectly  contented  as  soon 
as  they  come  to  me,  because  they  will  be  drawing  the 
double  amount  of  what  they  are  drawing  to-day;  I  will 
pay  them  double  wages.  But  I  want  you  to  be  sure,"  he 
would  say  to  them  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  "  when  you 
engage  with  your  new  masters  you  stipulate  to  receive  the 
double  wages  whether  he  makes  the  profit  or  not — the 
same  as  I  am  paying  you  now;  do  not  trust  yourselves  or 
him  to  make  profits  for  you ;  insist  on  having  the  double 
wages  I  am  paying  you,  and  then,  of  course,  make  your 
claim  for  the  profits  in  addition,  because  you  say  labour 
creates  all  wealth.  Now,  if  you  draw  double  wages  from 
my  competitors,  it  will  make  it  easier  for  me ;  for,  paying 
only  half  my  rate  of  wages,  their  cars  are  already  dearer 
in  price  than  my  cars,  and  I  shall  have  the  trade  more  and 
more  in  my  hands.  This,  of  course,  you  will  be  able  to 
do  easily  because  you  create  the  wealth;  out  of  that 
wealth  you  will  draw  the  double  wages,  and  you  will 
draw  the  ninety-nine  hundredths  of  the  five  millions  you 
will  be  making  for  your  new  master,  because  you  say  you 
create  it;  you  make  it;  it  is  yours,  and  take  it  and  do 


WORKERS'  INTEREST  IN  PRODUCTIVITY     207 

not  delay  for  a  moment;  start  right  away,  and  I  will  swop 
employees  with  these  men." 

Now,  let  us  see,  dismissing  that  picture — I  will  just 
leave  it  at  that  to  you — what  is  the  wealth  that  the  mas- 
ters make  in  the  United  Kingdom  per  head  of  the  popula- 
tion and  per  head  of  the  workers,  because  it  is  estimated 
that  only  three  out. of  every  five  are  workers.  In  the 
three  I  am  including  the  wife — you  will  understand  I  am 
including  all  workers.  Now,  it  is  only  pre-war  income 
tax  figures  I  can  take,  but  on  the  top  of  pre-war  figures 
we  can  add  excess  profits.  If  you  will  take  the  returns  for 
1913-14  you  will  find  the  income  from  land  and  houses, 
which  I  am  quite  willing  to  throw  in  because  we  are  going 
to  divide  everytfiing  else ;  let  us  divide  all  there  is.  We 
cannot  divide  salaries,  because  we  shall  always  want  some 
one  to  do  the  work,  and  they  will  always  want  salaries 
paid  in  proportion  to  their  appointments;  and  the  salaries 
paid  to  Government  officials  and  Corporation  officials 
also  will  have  to  be  paid.  I  am  merely  speaking  of  the 
profits  in  business  which  we  are  proposing  to  confiscate; 
and  see  how  they  work  out.  Now,  the  income  from 
business,  worked  out  per  head  of  the  population,  is 
4^d.  per  head  per  day  of  the  people,  of  the  income 
from  land  and  rents  of  houses  is  2*4d.;  total,  6^d. 
The  excess  profits  tax  divides  out  at  3d.  per  head  per 
day  of  the  people — that  is  what  the  Government  take.1 
The  Government  began  by  taking  50  per  cent.,  then  60 
per  cent.,  and  now  it  is  80  per  cent.  There  is  another 
2j4d.  per  head  per  day  of  the  people  that  the  maker  of 
the  excess  profits  is  permitted  to  retain — total,  is.  per 
head  per  day;  now,  dividing  this  over  three  out  of  every 
five,  it  is  is.  8d.  per  head  per  day  of  the  workers.  Now, 
that  would  not  eliminate  poverty  if  we  took  it  all,  if  we 
did  not  pay  a  penny  to  employers  in  England;  if  we  could 
xln  1917. 


208  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT   , 

get  employers  for  nothing,  that  would  not  remove 
poverty.  In  fact,  since  this  war  began,  covered  by  the 
period  when  these  excess  profits  have  been  made,  wages, 
as  you  know,  have  risen  from  2S.  6d.  in  some  industries 
for  unskilled  labour  to  55.  in  others  for  skilled,  and  in  a 
few,  i os.  per  day  per  head;  so  that  in  dealing  with  this 
money  in  the  sense  of  confiscation,  or  any  name  we  like 
to  give  it,  all  the  wealth  of  the  country  would  not  relieve 
poverty  or  lift  the  workman  much.  No  scheme  of  con- 
fiscation or  redistribution  can  do  that.  The  only  way 
is  the  one  we  mentioned — increased  production.  This 
will  enable  wages  to  be  advanced  as  I  mentioned,  hours 
of  labour  to  be  reduced,  cost  of  production  to  be 
reduced. 

A  policy  of  "ca'  canny''  defeats  its  own  end.  We 
can  see  in  the  building  trade  the  policy  of  "  ca'  canny  " 
can  only  increase  the  cost  of  building;  and  whether  the 
houses  are  built  by  the  municipality  or  the  State,  or  by 
private  enterprise,  wages  will  have  to  be  paid  in  the 
building,  material  will  have  to  be  bought — and  material 
is  largely  labour  cost  right  up  to  the  point  of  being  on 
the  job  where  the  material  is  going  to  be  used — and  the 
amount  of  rent,  either  directly  as  rent  or  in  rates  and 
taxes,  will  be  in  proportion  to  the  cost.  If  "  ca'  canny  " 
is  in  the  coal  mine,  then  coals  will  be  dearer.  If  "  ca' 
canny  "  is  in  the  factory,  then  boots,  shoes,  and  clothes 
will  be  dearer.  No  "  ca'  canny "  policy  can  produce 
wealth;  it  is  a  robber  of  wealth  and  of  fellow-workmen 
and  reduces  and  lowers  the  level  of  every  workman.  It 
is  not  an  uplifting  force,  it  is  a  suffocating  poison ;  but  it 
has  its  devoted  disciples  in  many  industries  throughout 
the  land,  mistaken — don't  think  I  am  judging  these  men 
hardly;  I  believe  they  are  as  honest  in  their  efforts  by 
"  ca'  canny  "  to  help  the  working  man  as  I  am  honest 
in  my  conviction  that  "  ca'  canny  "  is  a  blunder.  All  I 


WORKERS'  INTEREST  IN  PRODUCTIVITY     209 

want  to  endeavour  to  show  is  that  the  policy  is  wrong, 
not  that  the  men's  motives  are  wrong.  If  it  was  mere 
laziness,  I  would  say  it  was  a  wrong  motive;  if  it  was  to 
save  their  own  backs,  I  would  say  it  was  the  wrong 
motive;  but  when  it  is  a  belief  that  "  ca'  canny  "  will  em- 
ploy more  labour,  will  make  wages  go  up,  and  so  on, 
then  I  say  it  is  a  mistaken  policy. 

Now,  it  may  be  thought  that  we  could  get  relief  from 
Acts  of  Parliament.  A  noted  man  said — I  think  it  was 
Herbert  Spencer — that  he  had  inquired  into  thirty-two 
Acts  of  Parliament  that  had  been. passed  to  benefit  the 
worker  and  to  relieve  poverty,  and  twenty-nine  out  of  the 
thirty-two  Acts  had  produced  exactly  the  opposite  effect. 
Why,  the  so-called  People's  Budget,  for  which  I  voted 
with  great  pride  and  pleasure  in  1909 — and  I  am  not 
ashamed  of  having  voted  for  it,  because  that  Budget 
was  sound  so  far  as  its  taxation  of  wealth,  its  graduated 
income  tax,  its  graduated  death  duties,  and  so  on,  went, 
all  of  which  taxation  ought  to  make  us  look  gently  on 
such  clauses  of  the  Bill  as  have  failed  to  achieve  the 
objects  intended — now,  that  Budget  has  discouraged  un- 
doubtedly the  building  of  houses  for  workmen  through- 
out the  land;  it  has  discouraged  the  landowner  in 
developing  his  land ;  it  has  not  made  prospective  builders 
eager  to  buy  building  land;  in  fact,  for  the  scarcity  of 
houses  the  workman  is  suffering  from  to-day  the  Budget 
of  1909  is  partly  responsible — not  entirely  responsible, 
but  it  has  tended  in  that  direction. 

When  the  war  first  broke  out,  we  thought  employment 
was  going  to  be  very  bad  for  the  workman,  and  the 
Prince  of  Wales's  Fund  was  started  and  five  million 
pounds  subscribed  at  once  to  assist  the  unemployed. 
People  were  urged  not  to  discontinue  any  work  that  em- 
ployed labour,  but  to  start  fresh  work  that  employed 
labour — anything  that  employed  labour.  We  all  expected 


210  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

that  the  war  was  going  to  make  employment  very  bad. 
The  war  has  proved  us  all  to  be  very  bad  prophets.  Wages 
have  risen,  employment  is  to-day  in  the  position  that  there 
are  two  jobs  for  one  man.  Now,  why  is  this?  Why 
should  a  Bill  called  the  People's  Budget  have  failed  to 
achieve  the  building  of  more  houses,  that  part  of  the  Bill 
which  was  intended  to  so  achieve,  and  war  has  produced 
employment  when  it  was  expected  that  it  would  reduce 
employment  ?  Why  is  that  ?  Well,  in  the  first  place,  the 
one  has  discouraged  and,  in  the  second  place,  not  only  in 
munition  factories  but  in  all  other  occupations,  the  war 
has  been  a  stimulus  and  an  invigorator  to  both  men  and 
women.  From  patriotism,  from  every  motive,  we  have 
all  worked  harder  in  munition  factories  and  in  our  ordi- 
nary occupations  since  the  war.  This  has  increased  the 
wages  fund,  this  harder  work,  greater  employment,  men, 
women,  and  girls  employed  who  were  formerly  not  em- 
ployed. This  has  produced  more  wealth,  not  Acts  of 
Parliament.  It  is  our  determination  to  win  this  war,  the 
high,  patriotic  effort  we  have  put  forth,  that  has  increased 
wages.  Of  course,  there  has  always  been  the  destruction 
of  property  in  the  form  of  shells,  cartridges,  guns,  battle- 
ships, and  ordinary  ships,  and  so  on — that  is  going  on  all 
the  time — but  the  big  factor  has  been  the  stimulus  to  us 
to  work  harder,  the  opportunity  to  work  harder.  With 
equal  stimulus  to  work  and  without  war,  the  demand  for 
munitions  would  have  been  a  demand  for  more  boots  and 
shoes,  more  houses;  but  it  has  been  the  stimulus  behind 
us  to  do  our  bit,  and  without  that  stimulus  we  would  have 
been  in  chaos  in  this  country,  as  many  nations  are.  No; 
we  cannot  increase  our  wealth  by  Acts  of  Parliament, 
because  we  cannot  see  far  enough  what  are  the  cross- 
currents and  under-currents  that  we  have  to  face;  but  we 
can  organize  our  time  and  our  work  so  that  all  shall  have 
equal  opportunities  and  none  be  overworked,  and  on  that 


WORKERS'  INTEREST  IN  PRODUCTIVITY     211 

line,  with  increased  machinery  and  a  six-hour  working 
day,  higher  wages,  reduced  cost  and  improved  leisure,  in- 
creased consumption  can  be  attained. 

Now,  who  are  the  employers  to-day  ?  You  think  I  am 
one — great  delusion.  You  think  Ford  is  one — another 
delusion.  We  are  not  employers;  the  people  who  employ 
myself,  and  every  one  who  works  in  the  business  I  am 
connected  with,  are  the  consumers.  Let  consumers  buy 
other  products  made  by  other  firms,  and  where  are  we  all 
at  our  works  ?  Let  the  consumer  of  motor-cars  buy  other 
cars  than  Ford's,  where  are  Ford  and  his  workmen? 
The  employer  of  Ford  is  the  consumer.  The  employer 
of  every  master  in  the  country  to-day  is  the  consumer, 
and  90  per  cent,  of  the  consuming  power  of  products 
made  by  machinery  in  this  country  are  the  workmen 
themselves.  Therefore,  90  per  cent,  of  those  that  em- 
ploy me  are  working  men  and  their  families.  I  want  you 
to  bear  that  fact  in  mind.  My  employer  is  the  con- 
sumer, and  90  per  cent,  of  the  consumers  of  my  article 
are  working  men,  and  so  with  all  the  articles  made  in 
cotton-mills,  boot  and  shoe  factories,  and  so  on.  Well, 
now,  don't  you  see  that  the  real  employer  is  the  con- 
sumer, and  not  the  capitalist — the  so-called  employer? 
Don't  you  see  that  the  consumer's  own  best  interests  must 
be  to  see  that  whoever  is  the  nominal  employer  he  shall 
be  stimulated  to  bring  out  the  best  that  is  in  him?  If 
you  choose  a  chairman  for  any  of  your  committees,  you 
choose  one  who  has  your  confidence,  and  who  you  con- 
sider is  likely  to  give  the  best  results.  If  the  capitalist 
is  a  Rockefeller,  the  consumer  practically  employs  Rocke- 
feller on  the  understanding,  and  only  on  that  condition, 
that  he  shall  bore  oil  wells,  build  oil  refineries,  lay  pipe- 
lines, and  build  tank  steamers  to  transport  the  oil,  and 
that  he  does  this  work  cheaper  than  any  other  capitalist 
can  do  it.  That  is  the  only  basis  on  which  Rockefeller 


212  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

was  ever  employed.  If  the  capitalist  is  a  Ford,  the  con- 
sumer says  to  him  that  he  can  make  motor-cars  on  con- 
dition that  he  build  them  better  in  quality  for  the  price, 
and  lower  in  price  than  any  other  capitalist  can  build 
motor-cars  for.  But  that  is  the  consumer's  bargain  with 
the  capitalist.  There  is  not  one  of  your  wives  going  into 
a  shop  to-day  who  must  not  be  satisfied  as  to  the  quality 
and  the  price  before  she  purchases  an  article,  and  she  will 
buy  where — I  know  you  have  all  got  good  wives — she 
gets  you  the  best  value  for  your  money  always.  But  the 
workman,  how  does  he  approach  the  capitalist  ?  Labour 
says  to  Rockefeller  or  to  Ford  that  they  will  only  work 
for  him  on  condition  that  he  pays  them  the  maximum 
wages ;  Labour  in  effect  says,  "  We  are  going  to  reverse 
this  process  on  which  we  buy  our  goods,  and  we  are 
going  to  apply  our  rights  as  consumers  in  buying  goods 
on  that  principle ;  but  when  we  come  to  sell  our  labour  we 
are  going  to  sell  it  to  the  capitalist  who  gives  us  the  most 
wages  for  our  work,  and  we  claim  our  right  to  both  these 
privileges."  And  Labour  can  honestly  claim  the  right 
when  spending  wages  to  get  the  best  value  obtainable,  and 
when  seeking  employment  to  get  the  highest  wages  for 
producing  articles  bought  at  lowest  prices.  It  is  as  if 
Labour  said  to  Capital:  "You  are  only  our  agent  or 
broker.  If  you  can  give  us  the  highest  price  for  what 
we  have  to  sell  and  sell  to  us  the  products  of  our  own 
labour  at  the  lowest  price  we  can  obtain  the  same  for 
anywhere,  then  we  will  pay  you  a  commission  for  so 
doing;  but  if  you  lose  money  over  the  transaction  you 
go  down  and  out  and  into  the  bankruptcy  court  and  you 
must  not  look  to  us  for  help." 

And  what  is  this  brokerage  or  commission?  I  have 
shown  you  that  the  profits  on  trade  would  be  4%d.  per 
head  per  day  of  the  population:  the  excess  profits  re- 
tained by  the  capitalist  2%d.  per  head  per  day;  total, 


WORKERS'  INTEREST  IN  PRODUCTIVITY     213 


.  (for  the  purpose  of  this  illustration  we  are  now 
dealing  only  with  profits  in  trade,  therefore  I  am  leaving 
out,  at  the  moment,  land  and  houses)  or  about  nd.  per 
head  per  day  of  the  workers.  But  from  this  we  ought 
to  deduct  certain  items  that  do  not  appear  in  the  income 
tax  returns.  The  bankrupt  employers  —  employers  who 
reach  the  bankruptcy  court  —  'their  losses  are  not  deducted 
from  the  income  tax  of  the  successful;  there  is  no  de- 
duction for  interest  on  capital.  Income  tax  returns  in- 
clude interest  on  capital.  Whether  our  factories  and 
machinery  are  State-owned,  or  whether  they  are  owned 
by  private  enterprise,  we  shall  always  have  to  employ  capi- 
tal to  pay  out  wages  to  the  workman  whilst  building  our 
new  factories  and  new  machinery.  If  we  had  obtained 
all  our  existing  factories  and  machinery  by  confiscation, 
in  twenty  years  we  should  have  just  as  much  capital  raised 
to  pay  workmen  to  build  new  machines  and  build  new 
factories.  We  could  not  get  away  from  capital  and  in- 
terest. Now,  if  you  deduct  interest  on  capital  and  losses 
of  bankrupt  capitalists,  you  will  find  that  the  net  profits 
do  not  work  out  at  more  than  3d.  per  head  per  day  of 
the  workers;  in  other  words,  a  most  modest  commission 
on  the  basis  of  the  bargain,  which  is  the  highest  wages 
for  the  workman  and  the  cheapest  selling  price  for  the 
product  of  his  labour.  Abolish  private  enterprise,  and 
you  would  not  save  the  nd.,  you  would  not  save  the  3d. 
For  competitive  capital  you  would  get  State  Civil  Service; 
every  Government  department,  it  is  essential,  must  be 
run  on  what  we  call  the  lines  of  red  tape.  Wages  would 
become  nominal,  not  real,  and  whatever  wages  were 
nominally,  they  would  always  represent  reduced  pur- 
chasing power  to  the  consumer. 

Now,  all  I  want  us  to  ask  ourselves  is  this;  whether 
working  on  lines  such  as  we  have  hitherto  worked  con- 
sistently has  not  increased  wages  solidly  and  substan- 


214  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

tially?  Every  opportunity  for  advancing  wages — and, 
believe  me,  the  prosperity  of  a  country  depends  as  much 
upon  high  wages  as  upon  any  other  element  that  can  make 
a  country  prosperous — must  be  taken  advantage  of.  But 
this  means  more  machinery,  and  it  has  to  mean,  also, 
cheaper  production.  Wage  increases  must  not  be  sham 
increases;  they  must  be  real  increases,  with  increased 
purchasing  power,  as  well  as  increases  in  amount.  I  want 
us  to  realize  that,  and  then  on  sound  lines  we  can,  I  be- 
lieve, realize  all  our  ideals. 

But  behind  all  this  is  the  ambition  that  I  rejoice  at 
of  the  workers  to  control  their  own  industries.  I  think 
that  is  one  of  the  healthy  signs  of  the  day,  and  I  can 
see  it  and  feel  it  in  the  very  fibre  of  my  being,  because, 
as  I  mentioned  at  the  beginning,  I  began  in  a  modest  way 
and  I  have  worked  up,  and  I  can  realize  your  desire,  the 
desire  of  every  healthy  man  in  the  kingdom  to  raise  him- 
self and  become  pilot  of  his  destiny.  How  can  this  be 
done?  The  greatest  attraction  to  me  of  the  six-hour 
working  day  is  the  education  of  the  young.  I  ask  my- 
self, Why  should  not  the  sons  of  the  workman  have  the 
same  education  as  the  sons  of  the  .master?  They  must 
have,  if  they  are  going  to  control  industries  in  the  next 
generation.  Do  not  think  for  a  moment  that  control  can 
be  achieved  on  any  other  lines;  but,  with  better  education 
and  with  the  same  ambition  to  control  industries,  who  can 
say  nay  to  Labour?  But  merely  a  desire  to  sit  on  a 
Board  of  Directors,  without  a  knowledge  of  all  that  that 
position  means,  can  help  neither  the  workman,  nor  the 
industry,  nor  the  country;  there  must  be  a  period  of 
training. 

But  if  we  get  this  training  we  shall  be  a  better  nation 
physically,  we  shall  be  better  in  brain  power;  and  note 
well  this,  and  I  say  it  without  any  hesitation:  sons  and 
daughters  who  are  trained  with  hand  and  eye  as  well 


WORKERS'  INTEREST  IN  PRODUCTIVITY      215 

as  brain  will  make  better  educated  men  and  women  than 
the  mere  University  bookworm — infinitely  better;  and, 
you  may  depend  upon  it,  the  control  of  industries  in  the 
future  will  go  to  those  who  can  work  them  to  the  greatest 
advantage.  The  circumstance  that  gave  Ford  his  to- 
day's position  was  that  he  was  thirty  years  ahead  of 
anybody  else  when  he  was  working  on  a  farm,  and  he 
set  himself  to  realize  his  ideals  and  gave  up  the  farm 
to  obtain  a  bigger  field  for  his  energies.  The  circum- 
stance that  made  Rockefeller  was  that  he  had  the  con- 
viction that  single  oil  wells  and  single  oil  refineries,  put- 
ting oil  into  casks  and  sending  it  on  the  train  at  high 
freights,  was  stupid,  and  he  bought  a  number  of  oil 
wells;  he  combined  big  oil  refineries,  he  laid  pipe-lines 
from  the  refineries  to  the  coast,  he  put  tankers  on  the 
ocean  to  bring  the  oil  to  England,  and  he  brought  the 
price  of  oil  down  from  is.  to  4d.  a  gallon,  and  in  that 
process  he  made  a  fortune.  Now,  that  is  the  way  it  will 
be  for  your  sons,  for  my  son,  if  they  have  to  make 
money,  if  they  have  to  raise  themselves,  have  more  com- 
forts for  themselves  and  their  children  than  we  have 
had.  We  can  only  achieve  these  ideals  by  increased  pro- 
duction. 

Education,  the  consideration  of  which  I  have  left  to 
the  finish  as  the  crown  of  all,  is  the  keynote  of  the  situa- 
tion, and  I  would  rejoice,  as  every  one  of  you  would,  that 
the  sons  of  the  workman  should  be  the  equal  in  education 
of  the  sons  of  the  master.  But  behind  the  master,  behind 
the  hollow  title  of  employer,  is  the  consumer,  and  90  per 
cent,  of  the  consumers,  as  I  have  stated,  are  the  working 
men  and  women.  Through  education  the  whole  mass  of 
the  consumers  of  the  country  will  be  elevated  and  raised, 
the  whole  of  our  industries  in  which  they  are  employed 
will  be  elevated  and  raised,  and  we  shall  march  forward  a 
proud  nation  to  further  achievements  undreamt  of  even 


216  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

to-day;  and  Great  Britain,  at  home  and  overseas,  the 
largest  Empire  the  world  has  ever  seen,  will  contain  a 
people  whose  joyous  lives  are  spent  in  such  happy  sur- 
roundings as  are  unknown  to  us  in  this  room  to-night, 
where  life  will  lengthen  and  joy  will  deepen,  and  where 
happiness  will  be  assured  for  all. 


XIII 
PRINCIPLES  OF  RECONSTRUCTION 

WE  are  living  in  strenuous  times,  and  are  making  sacri- 
fices of  life  and  treasure  on  a  scale  that  we  are  apt  to 
believe  is  greater  than  our  forefathers,  even  in  their  most 
difficult  wars,  were  ever  called  upon  to  endure.  But  this 
is  obviously  only  true  of  dimensions.  It  is  not  true  of 
proportions  to  scale  with  the  resources  or  wealth  of  the 
present  British  Empire,  as  compared  with  her  former  war 
periods;  nor  is  it  true  in  relation  to  the  resources  Science 
has  placed  at  our  disposal  for  our  more  rapid  recupera- 
tion from  the  effects  of  this  war,  by  the  exploitation  and 
development  of  the  nascent  wealth  that  Nature,  with 
lavish  hand,  has  stored  up  for  us  within  our  boundaries. 
To  realize  the  natural  strength  of  the  British  Empire, 
let  us  think  of  it  in  the  words  of  the  poet : 

As  some  tall  cliff  that  lifts  its  awful  form, 
Swells  from  the  vale,  and  midway  leaves  the  storm, 
Though  round  its  breast  the  rolling  clouds  are  spread, 
Eternal  sunshine  settles  on  its  head. 

Our  most  cruel  and  deplorable  loss  in  this  war  is  the 
awful  sacrifice  of  human  life.  The  irreparable,  disastrous 
consequences  to  civilization  and  the  progress  of  the 
world  that  must  result  from  so  many  of  the  flower  of  our 
manhood  having  been  taken  from  us  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  overstate.  This  welter  of  blood  has  made  the 
world  one  huge  sob  and  stifled  moan.  There  is  not  one 
single  family  group  in  the  whole  of  the  peoples  of  the 

217 


218  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

belligerent  nations  that  has  not  to  mourn  some  loved  dear 
ones  lost  or  returned  mutilated  and  torn,  blinded  or  crip- 
pled— the  wreck  and  shadow  of  their  former  selves.  No 
loving  care  nor  patient  toil  can  restore  these  or  make  good 
to  us  their  loss. 

But  for  the  rest  the  loss  can,  on  certain  well-known 
and  proved  established  lines,  be  fully  recovered,  and,  most 
speedily  of  all,  the  money  wastage.  Many  worthy  good 
souls  are  worrying  themselves  and  the  nation  as  to  the 
undoubted  load  and  enormous  burden  of  national  war 
indebtedness  we  shall  have  to  carry  when  this  war  is 
over,  and  are  worrying  still  more  as  to  our  ability  as  a 
nation  to  repay  these  debts.  In  their  alarm,  and  suffer- 
ing from  an  attack  of  nerves  and  cold  feet,  some  openly 
advocate  unblushing  repudiation  of  our  war  debts,  and 
call  the  same  by  some  such  specious  name  as  Conscrip- 
tion of  Wealth.  And  in  their  haste  to  propound  this 
"  cure  all  "  for  our  ills  they  cannot  even  wait  until  we 
have  won  a  decisive  victory  on  the  battlefield  and  obtained 
the  unconditional  surrender  of  our  enemies,  but  must 
needs  weaken  the  national  credit  by  advocating  this  im- 
possible policy  even  whilst  the  necessity  for  further  bor- 
rowing still  continues. 

There  are  seven  pillars  of  national  and  individual  pros- 
perity and  happiness.  These  are: — 

Justice  Science 

Truth  Art 

Labor  Leisure 
Capital 

The  unit  of  the  Empire,  as  of  all  democracies,  is  the 
home  and  fireside,  and  along  the  lines  defined  by  the  seven 
pillars  of  prosperity,  individual  nations  and  the  home 
units  have  progressed  from  slavery  to  fullest  liberty. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  RECONSTRUCTION       219 

What  were  the  conditions  of  life  in  Great  Britain  in,  say, 
Oliver  Cromwell's  time,  when  we  experienced  our  great- 
est advance  towards  our  present  ideal  form  of  Govern- 
ment— a  Constitutional  Monarchy?  London,  even  then, 
was  the  largest,  the  richest,  and  most  populous  city  in  the 
then-known  world.  Yet  it  was  indescribably  dirty,  over- 
crowded, insanitary,  badly  lighted  and  worse  drained, 
and  neither  health  nor  life  was  safe  from  attacks  from 
disease,  pestilence,  or  robbers  and  footpads.  The  then 
death-rate  was  over  49  per  thousand  in  ordinary  years, 
and  much  higher  in  years  of  special  visitations  of  plague. 
In  Oliver  Cromwell's  time,  close  to  the  then  London,  were 
25  square  miles  of  swamps,  which  to-day  are  absorbed 
within  the  boundaries  of  the  Metropolitan  area,  drained 
dry  and  made  healthy  and  built  over.  In  wet  weather  the 
streets  and  roads  were  impassable,  a  quagmire  of  mud,  in 
Which  chariots,  wagons,  and  carts  sank  to  their  axles. 
Robbers,  footpads,  and  highwaymen  made  it  dangerous 
to  travel  in  daylight,  and  impossible  at  night  to  do  so 
without  being  under  convoy  of  a  guard.  In  the  United 
Kingdom  at  that  time  there  were  34  counties  without 
any,  even  the  most  primitive,  form  of  printing  press. 
The  master  flogged  his  apprentice,  and  the  husband 
flogged  his  wife.  The  stocks,  the  ducking-stool,  and  the 
whipping-post  were  national  institutions  in  the  most 
public  centres  of  every  town  and  village.  Even  a  century 
later  we  were  very  little  improved  in  our  social  life. 

What  has  changed  all  this  to  conditions  such  as  exist  in 
the  United  Kingdom  to-day  ?  It  has  been  the  discoveries 
of  science  and  the  inventions  of  mechanics.  About  the 
close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Watt,  Arkwright,  Har- 
greaves,  Crompton,  Cartwright,  and  others  invented  vari- 
ous of  our  most  important  "  key  "  mechanical  utilities, 
such  as  the  steam-engine,  the  spinning- jenny,  the  mule, 
the  power-loom,  the  carding-machine,  and  scores  of 


220  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

others.  It  is  said  that  as  a  result  of  these  inventions, 
twenty- five  men  and  fifty  women  and  boys  can  produce 
to-day  as  much  cotton  goods  as  could  have  been  pro- 
duced by  the  hand  labour  of  all  the  men,  women  and  boys 
that  were  engaged  in  the  cotton  industry  in  Lancashire 
in  Oliver  Cromwell's  time. 

And  what  is  the  condition  of  London  to-day?  The 
population  is  more  than  a  scorefold  what  it  was  then, 
and  it  has  become  the  cleanest,  most  healthy  and  sani- 
tary, the  best  lighted  and  the  best  drained  city,  as  it  is 
also  the  largest  city  in  the  world.  And  all  traces  of 
special  visitations  of  plague  or  pestilence  have  ceased, 
and  the  death-rate  is  the  lowest  of  any  of  the  largest  cities 
of  the  world,  being  no  more  than  15  per  thousand. 

And  corresponding  progress  has  been  made  in  every 
city,  town,  and  village  in  the  country,  and  in  the  social 
betterment  of  the  lives  of  the  people,  and  the  British 
Empire  has  become  the  greatest  Empire  in  the  world,  not 
by  repudiation  of  the  Napoleonic  War  debts,  not  by  Acts 
of  Parliament,  but  by  the  steady  maintenance  of  the 
beneficent  support  of  the  seven  pillars  of  prosperity,  and 
by  the  labour  of  employer-capitalist  and  employee-work- 
man. These,  as  inventors,  manufacturers,  merchants, 
explorers,  and  shipowners,  have  often  been  handicapped 
in  the  march  of  progress  in  competition  with  other  na- 
tions by  stupid  Acts  of  Parliament  and  ignorant  states- 
men; but  in  rectifying  this  handicap  of  progress  let  us 
be  careful  that  we  do  not  commit  still  greater  errors  of 
government  in  the  future.  Our  best  hope  for  the  future 
is  that  the  whole  of  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome,  and 
of  our  social  betterment  to  be  achieved,  shall  be  fully 
considered  in  all  their  bearings,  shall  be  fully  discussed 
and  understood,  before  we  enter  upon  the  putting  into 
effect  of  immature  and  ill-considered  new  and  experi- 
mental policies.  We  must  approach  the  consideration 


PRINCIPLES  OF  RECONSTRUCTION      221 

of  the  problem  with  minds  free  from  thoughts  founded 
on  prejudice,  hatred,  or  temper — free  from  taint  of  sel- 
fishness or  injustice.  Above  all  we  must  dismiss  from 
our  minds  and  souls  any  idea  of  what,  for  want  of  a 
better  name,  we  call  "  class  against  class  "  antagonism. 
In  all  countries,  throughout  all  ages,  there  have  been 
numerous  divisions  of  peoples  into  so-called  "  classes," 
but  this  good  old  world,  large  as  it  is,  has  never  been 
big  enough  to  contain  more  than  a  division  into  two 
great  classes — the  class  that  is  doing  its  duty  and  the 
class  that  fails  to  do  its  duty.  These  two  great  divisions 
are  wide  enough  and  deep  enough  to  include  the  whole 
human  race,  and  all  other  distinctions  are  purely  artificial. 
But  we  have  got  into  a  slipshod  way  of  thinking  of  man- 
kind as  existing  in  "  classes,"  and  nothing,  in  the  present 
temper  of  the  world,  is  more  unjust  or  dangerous.  Peer 
and  peasant,  employer-capitalist  and  employee-workman, 
have  fought  side  by  side  in  the  trenches,  and  laid  down 
their  lives  side  by  side  on  the  battlefield  in  this  great 
war,  and  as  comrades  in  this  war  they  honour  and  respect 
each  other  as  never  was  possible  before,  and  we  have 
learned  that  in  about  equal  proportional  numbers  there 
are  included  in  all  the  artificial  "  class  "  divisions  the 
industrious  and  the  idle,  the  intelligent  and  the  stupid, 
the  brave  and  the  cowards,  the  honest  and  the  cheat,  the 
truthful  and  the  liar,  the  virtuous  and  the  vicious,  the 
temperate  and  the  drunkard,  the  strong  and  the  weak, 
the  healthy  and  the  sickly,  the  thrifty  and  the  spend- 
thrift, and  that  so  long  as  these  opposites  of  characteris- 
tics exist  there  will  always  be  the  rich  and  the  poor.  Let 
us  uproot  this  habit  of  thinking  of  individuals  according 
to  certain  artificial  so-called  "  classes."  Nothing  is  more 
unjust,  and  nothing  could  be  more  dangerous. 

Long  before  this  war  began  we  were  experiencing  the 
influence  in  politics  of  a  new  Parliamentary  Party,  whose 


222  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

leaders  scorned  the  beaten  tracks  of  old-school  politicians, 
and  who  called  themselves  the  Labour  Party.  The  em- 
ployee-workmen, through  their  Trade  Unions,  have  also 
become  more  active,  and  have  rightly  and  properly — so 
long  as  they  respect  the  just  rights  and  liberties  of  others 
— organized  to  improve  their  position.  The  betterment 
of  the  condition  of  the  employee-workers  is  declared,  and 
I  believe  truly  so,  their  sole  objective  and  goal,  but  so 
far  as  my  knowledge  goes  the  employee-workers  have 
not  yet  unanimously  decided  upon  what  might  be  the 
best  methods  for  them  to  adopt  to  realize  betterment  and 
advancement.  In  short,  whilst  their  aims,  ideals,  and 
ambitions  are  clear  and  definite,  their  proposed  methods 
for  realization  are  most  indefinite  and  hazy. 

When  the  dissatisfied  colonists  in  North  America  won, 
under  the  leadership  of  General  Washington,  their  sever- 
ance from  Great  Britain  nearly  a  century  and  a  half  ago, 
they  declared  as  their  ideals — and  in  these  the  whole 
English-speaking  world  agrees  to-day — that  all  men 
were  endowed  by  God  with  certain  inalienable  rights, 
amongst  which  were  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  hap- 
piness. Washington  and  his  co-founders  of  the  United 
States  believed  and  trusted  that,  if  all  men  were  given 
an  equal  opportunity,  and  if  the  citizens  of  a  country 
could  frame  their  own  laws  and  levy  their  own  taxes,  the 
inequalities  in  wealth  that  existed  in  the  Mother  Country 
could  never  exist  in  the  United  States.  This  was  the 
view  held  in  1776,  and  the  founders  of  the  United  States 
were  convinced  that  the  rich  and  wealthy  were  rich  and 
wealthy  in  consequence  of  some  unfairness  in  the  laws 
of  the  United  Kingdom.  But  after  nearly  a  century  and 
a  half,  in  spite  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  as 
to  equality,  in  spite  of  universal  manhood  suffrage,  there 
are  greater  inequalities  of  wealth  in  the  United  States 
to-day  than  there  are  or  ever  were  in  the  United  King- 


PRINCIPLES  OF  RECONSTRUCTION      223 

dom,  and  it  is  clear  that  neither  Acts  of  Congress  nor 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  have  been  able  to 
make  all  men  equal  in  wealth  any  more  than  in  health, 
weight  or  stature,  brains  or  muscle,  piety  or  morals, 
character  or  worth.  But  this  inequality  of  wealth,  al- 
though infinitely  greater  in  1916  than  in  1776  (at  which 
time,  as  often  is  the  case  to-day,  it  was  thought  to  be  the 
cause  of  all  the  poverty  of  the  poor),  has  been  proved  to 
have  relieved  the  extremes  of  poverty  and  wretchedness, 
and  to  have  greatly  raised  the  average  of  comfort  and 
betterment,  and  to  have  resulted  also  in  actually  a  better 
distribution  and  more  plentiful  supply  of  wealth  amongst 
the  employee-workmen.  The  United  States  has  produced 
millionaires  in  greater  number  and  of  greater  individual 
wealth  than  ever  the  United  Kingdom  produced,  and  yet 
the  employee-workman  in  that  country  receives  the  high- 
est rate  of  wages  known  in  the  world.  In  1776  it  was 
believed  that  in  the  United  Kingdom  the  Government  had 
somehow  interfered  with  some  great  principle  underlying 
all  social  well-being,  and  that  in  the  United  States,  under 
the  Constitution  adopted  in  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, wealth  would  be  more  equally  distributed  .and 
poverty  would  cease.  But  the  result  has  clearly  proved 
that,  so  long  as  some  men  are  stronger,  or  more  healthy, 
or  more  intelligent,  or  more  industrious,  or  more  virtu- 
ous, or  more  self-denying,  or  more  thrifty  than  others, 
there  will  be  inequalities  of  wealth,  that  the  employer- 
capitalist  was  not  responsible  for  these,  nor  was  the  em- 
ployee-workman to  blame,  and  that,  if  either  changed 
places  with  the  other  by  Act  of  Parliament,  that  change 
over  would  constitute  no  remedy  for  acknowledged  in- 
equalities nor  be  a  stimulus  to  social  betterment  for  all. 
Employer-capitalists  in  acquiring  their  wealth  by  hard 
work  of  brain  and  energy  of  body  have  benefited  not  only 
themselves  and  their  families,  but  have,  even  if  unwit- 


224  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

tingly,  conduced  to  the  betterment  of  the  employee- work- 
man and  also  to  the  progress  of  the  whole  of  the  indus- 
tries of  the  United  Kingdom. 

And  now  I  venture  to  assert,  notwithstanding  that  all 
the  above  circumstances  are  inevitable  and  normal  and 
natural,  that  still  no  employer-capitalist  with  a  true  feel- 
ing of  brotherhood  can  be  quite  happy  in  the  fullest  sense 
in  the  enjoyment  of  wealth  (the  product  of  his  own  hard 
work,  intelligence,  self-denial  and  thrift,  every  penny 
earned  without  committing  injury  to  any  man,  and  the 
acquisition  of  which  has  resulted  in  enormous  benefits  to 
his  employee-workmen)  without  feeling  a  sense  of  dis- 
satisfaction with  present  industrial  conditions  and  a 
strong  desire  to  improve  them  so  that  the  employee-work- 
man may  be  raised  to  a  much  higher  level  in  social  well- 
being. 

But  this  ideal  cannot  be  achieved  by  an  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment for  the  conscription  or  confiscation  of  wealth. 

The  men  and  women  of  British  stock  who  crossed  the 
Atlantic  and  founded  the  United  States  did  not  state  in 
their  Declaration  of  Independence  that  all  wealth  must 
be  confiscated  to  the  State.  What  they  did  declare  was 
that  man  was  endowed  by  God  with  certain  inalienable 
rights  of  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  Do 
these  rights  mean  that  Government  should  conscript  or 
confiscate  the  fruits  of  the  industry  of  one  man  who  had 
led  a  thrifty,  wholesome,  industrious  life  in  order  that 
Government  might  use  the  same  for  the  benefit  of  men 
who  had  lived  lives  of  exactly  the  opposite  type?  That 
was  certainly  not  what  the  citizens  of  1776  ever  intended. 
What  was  meant  was  that  every  citizen  had  the  fullest 
liberty  to  live  his  own  life  and  to  make  his  own  Iiveliho9d 
in  his  own  way  so  long  as  that  was  honest  and  true,  and 
that  he  was  entitled  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  product 
of  his  labour,  whether  of  muscle  or  brain,  and  for  the 


PRINCIPLES  OF  RECONSTRUCTION       225 

pursuit  of  his  own  happiness — also  within  honest  and 
true  limits — in  his  own  way. 

And  what  was  meant  by  liberty?  One  of  the  best 
definitions  of  liberty  has  been  stated  by — if  I  remember 
correctly — a  French  Convention  in  the  following  words : 
"  The  liberty  of  one  citizen  ceases  only  where  it  en- 
croaches on  the  liberty  of  another  citizen."  And  as  to 
the  pursuit  of  happiness,  John  Bright  has  given  us  one 
of  the  best  definitions  of  happiness  in  the  following 
words :  "  Happiness  consists  in  a  congenial  occupation 
with  a  sense  of  progress."  In  addition,  this  Declaration 
of  Independence  laid  down  the  axiom  that  Governments 
were  instituted  to  preserve  these  rights  to  the  people  and 
that  the  people  themselves  were  the  source  of.  all  the 
power  that  Governments  possessed.  The  force  that  has 
created  the  United  States  has  not  been  Congress,  nor 
was  the  British  Empire  built  up  by  Parliament.  There 
would  have  been  no  United  States  and  no  British  Empire 
without  the  labour  and  toil  and  sweat  of  the  people  of  the 
two  nations.  Governments  create  no  wealth  as  such, 
and  possess  no  money  but  what  they  receive  from  the 
taxation  of  the  people.  All  Governments  are  paupers, 
and  only  exist  in  free  democratic  nations  by  the  con- 
sent of  the  governed.  All  Governments  being  paupers, 
they  have  only  two  means  for  raising  money — by  taxa- 
tion and  by  borrowing.  In  times  of  war  or  for  great 
public  undertakings  such  as  waterworks,  or  municipal 
developments,  such  as  docks,  etc.,  borrowing  has  had  to 
be  resorted  to  in  the  past  years  as  in  the  present  years, 
and  will  have  to  be  resorted  to  in  the  years  to  come  when 
this  war  is  over.  The  power  and  ability  of  a  Government 
to  borrow  and  the  rate  of  interest  to  be  paid  depend  en- 
tirely on  the  credit  of  the  Government  concerned,  and  on 
the  assured  belief  of  the  lenders  in  the  borrower's  ability 
and  good  faith  for  the  due  payment  of  interest  and  the 


226  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

repayment  of  the  debt.  Our  British  Imperial  and  Colonial 
Governments  and  our  municipalities  have  hitherto  en- 
joyed the  power  to  borrow  all  their  requirements  at  the 
world's  lowest  rate  of  interest.  This  advantageous  posi- 
tion is  entirely  due  to  public  confidence  in  the  honour, 
honesty,  and  good  faith  of  our  Governments.  If  we  once 
shake  confidence  in  either  our  ability  or  our  willingness 
to  repay  our  indebtedness,  then  our  credit,  our  power  to 
borrow,  is  either  seriously  damaged  or  may  be  hopelessly 
destroyed.  And  with  this  destruction  of  credit  and  con- 
fidence would  come  equally  the  ruin  of  our  industries, 
and  unemployment  and  hunger  would  be  our  chronic 
condition.  If  we,  as  British  citizens,  cannot  realize  these 
truths,  then  we  are  in  greater  peril  than  if  the  Prussians 
had  landed  on  our  shores  and  were  marching  through  an 
undefended  country  on  defenceless  cities  and  towns.  The 
British  Empire  might  recover  in  time  from  defeat  in 
war,  but  the  British  Empire  never  could  recover  from  its 
own  default  to  repay  its  war  loan  indebtedness.  The 
credit  and  confidence  enjoyed  by  the  British  Empire  is 
the  one  and  only  foundation  on  which  stand,  foursquare 
to  all  attempts  to  overthrow  them,  the  prosperity  and 
stability  of  British  industries  and  ability  to  provide  full 
employment  at  full  wages  for  the  British  workman.  The 
repudiation  of  debt,  or  the  so-called  conscription  of 
wealth,  would  be  an  assassin  blow  at  the  very  heart  of 
the  British  Empire.  But  even  if  it  were  a  practical  and 
honest  policy,  there  would  be  two  questions  still  that 
would  arise  and  require  to  be  answered — how  could  such 
conscription  be  accomplished,  and  what  would  it  yield? 
The  suggestion  is  that  we  conscript  sufficient  of  the 
wealth  of  the  country  on  some  graduated  scale  to  en- 
able us  to  repay  at  least  £4,000,000,000  of  war  loan  in- 
debtedness. How  would  our  Government  collect  this 
£4,000,000,000  and  convert  the  same  into  cash? — for 


PRINCIPLES  OF  RECONSTRUCTION      227 

it  is  obviously  only  as  cash  that  wealth  could  be  used  for 
the  repayment  of  war  loans.  At  present  this  wealth  ex- 
ists in  the  form  of  furniture,  pictures,  china,  works  of 
art,  houses,  land,  workshops,  factories,  machinery,  ships, 
horses,  cattle,  sheep,  and  the  thousands  of  other  forms 
of  wealth,  including  debentures,  shares,  mortgages  in  pub- 
lic railways,  industrial  companies,  municipal  and  dock 
loans,  Government  War  Loans,  deposits  in  banks  and 
building  societies.  And  this  wealth  includes  the  savings 
of  the  frugal  father  for  his  widow  and  children  equally 
with  those  of  the  millionaire.  We  know  the  depreciation 
that  takes  place  when  trustees  are  forced  to  sell  some 
portions  of  an  estate  in  order  to  pay  death  duties.  But 
only  some  £30,000,000  a  year  are  paid  in  death  duties, 
and  much  of  this  we  know  has  been  received  by  the 
trustees  in  hard  cash  from  banks  and  insurance  com- 
panies. It  is  only  a  cautious  estimate  to  assume  that  not 
more  than  two-thirds  had  to  be  raised  by  forced  sales — 
say  £  20,000,000  a  year.  But  to  realize  even  this  modest 
sum  each  year  has  tended  to  depress  the  market  value  of 
securities.  So  that  it  is  clear  that  no  market  could  be 
found  for  £4,000,000,000  of  conscripted  wealth  at  what 
I  may  call  par  value,  and  as  practically  every  one  with 
wealth  would  be  sellers  and  there  would  be  almost  no 
British  buyers,  it  is  only  reasonable  to  say  that  the 
£4,000,000,000  of  conscripted  wealth  would  not  realize 
in  cash  as  much  as  £400,000,000.  It  would  be  almost 
valueless  and  unsaleable,  and  therefore  not  available  for 
the  purpose  intended  of  repaying  war  loans.  The  con- 
fiscation of  wealth  would  carry  the  country  icebound  be- 
low zero.  Left  to  fructify  in  the  pockets  of  its  owners, 
we  should  have  its  yield  in  income  tax  and  death  duties 
to  the  State,  and  in  employment  for  employee-workmen 
not  only  of  the  then  existing  factories  and  workshops, 
but  still  more  important,  of  extensions  and  additions 


228  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

thereto,  and  for  the  provision  of  capital  for  working 
and  building  the  same  to  be  obtained  on  the  credit  of  the 
security  available.  But  conscript  10  per  cent,  or  20  per 
cent,  of  the  wealth  of  the  country,  and  not  only  would  the 
conscripted  portion  be  unsaleable,  but  the  balance  would 
be  depreciated  as  security  for  credit  to  finance  our  in- 
dustries to  the  lowest  level  of  the  conscripted  portion. 
This  would  be  like  cutting  out  the  roots  of  the  tree  to 
anticipate  the  next  year's  crop  of  fruit. 

But  this  cutting  out  of  roots  is  certainly  not  what  wise 
men  would  do.  They  would  guard  the  roots,  fertilize 
them,  prune  the  dead  roots,  support  the  limbs  and 
branches,  protect  from  frost  the  blossoms,  and  finally 
reap  an  abundant  harvest — growing  larger  in  quantity 
and  better  in  quality  each  year  of  patient  care  and  cultiva- 
tion. Therefore,  our  course  for  repayment  of  war  loans 
lies  in  cultivating  our  industries  and  fertilizing  them 
— root-pruning  by  death  duties  and  collecting  the  harvest 
by  means  of  income  tax  graduated  so  that  all  citizens 
with  incomes  of  £80  a  year  and  over  contribute  accord- 
ing to  their  means.  In  no  other  way  can  we  realize  so 
large  a  cash  income  to  so  speedily  and  quickly  pay  off 
our  war  loans,  maintain  British  shipping  and  industries, 
find  ever-increasing  employment  for  British  labour,  and 
maintain  British  credit  and  the  pre-eminent  present  posi- 
tion of  our  world-wide  British  Empire. 

It  may  be  asked  how  steeply  can  income  tax  and 
death  duties  be  graduated;  the  answer  can  only  be,  that  if 
our  needs  require  them,  the  only  limit  can  be  that  point 
at  which  they  yield  the  largest  return  to  the  State  with 
the  least  injury  to  our  industries.  If  income  tax  at  55. 
in  the  pound  and  death  duties  at  20  per  cent,  yield  the 
largest  return  to  the  State  with  least  injury  to  our  in- 
dustries, and  if  income  tax  at  IDS.  in  the  pound  and  death 
duties  at  50  per  cent,  would  yield  actually  less  to  the  State 


PRINCIPLES  OF  RECONSTRUCTION      229 

and  would  also  threaten  our  industries  with  ruin,  then  the 
lower  figure  without  risk  to  our  industries  would  be 
proved  to  be  the  only  practicable  rate.  In  other  words, 
at  the  higher  rates  you  would  be  killing  the  tree  that 
bears  the  golden  fruit. 

Every  farmer  and  gardener  knows  that  such  a  hint 
from  Nature  as  to  the  limits  of  cropping  as  a  decreased 
yield  would,  if  disregarded,  sour  the  land  and  the  plants, 
with  ruinous  results.  The  reduced  yield  from  the  higher 
rate  would  also  prove  that  trade  and  commerce,  house- 
building, shipbuilding,  and  our  manufactures  were  suf- 
fering from  being  denuded  of  capital  by  excessive  taxa- 
tion, and  that  unemployment  would  soon  be  stalking,  with 
famine  and  sickness,  through  our  land.  And  we  should 
find  that  a  just,  fair,  and  reasonable  scale  of  graduated 
taxation  would  not  only  yield  the  largest  amount  of  cash 
to  the  State,  but  that  the  remainder,  left  to  fructify  in  the 
pockets  of  its  producers,  would  act  as  a  stimulus  to  the 
production  of  ever  larger  and  larger  taxable  incomes, 
and  to  the  employment  of  an  ever-increasing  num- 
ber of  employee-workmen  by  employer-capitalists,  to  the 
expansion  of  British  shipping,  trade,  and  commerce,  and 
to  the  maintenance  of  our  present  pre-eminent  position 
amongst  the  nations  of  the  world.  So  graduated  income 
tax  has  its  zero-point. 

All  that  Freedom's  highest  aims  can  reach 
Is  but  to  lay  proportion'd  loads  on  each. 
Hence,  should  one  Order  disproportion'd  grow, 
Its  double  weight  must  ruin  all  below. 

No !  there  is  only  this  one  way  available  to  enable  us 
to  repay  our  war  loans,  to  re-establish  our  mercantile 
marine,  our  trade,  commerce  and  manufactures  after  this 
welter  of  a  World  War,  and  that  is  to  stimulate  the  pro- 


230  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

duction  of  wealth  and  to  tax  the  annual  income  to  the 
limits  of  utmost  yield,  but  always  so  that  the  producers 
of  wealth  are  encouraged,  stimulated,  and  left  with  the 
necessary  means  for  the  production  of  more  wealth.  This 
production  of  increased  wealth  will  demand  and  necessi- 
tate that  every  adult  man  and  woman  of  all  classes  shall, 
up  to  the  limit  of  their  abilities  and  capacities,  work  hard 
and  strenuously  for  its  production.  But  human  strength 
has  its  economic  zero-point  also.  If  in  the  production  of 
this  wealth  either  the  employer-capitalist  or  the  employee- 
workman  is  over-fatigued  by  working  a  longer  num- 
ber of  hours  than  the  limitations  demanded  by  health  and 
strength,  then  the  result  can  only  be  disastrous  to  the 
production  of  wealth.  But  if  all  adults,  of  both  sexes 
and  of  all  classes,  peer  and  peasant,  employer-capitalist, 
and  employee-workman,  work  each  a  reasonable  number 
of  hours  per  day,  then,  without  over- fatigue  of  any,  we 
can  produce  a  wealth  of  products  sufficient  for  our  own 
home  markets  and  wants  and  for  overseas  exportation  far 
in  excess  of  anything  we  have  ever  previously  accom- 
plished. The  exact  number  of  hours  that  will  produce 
overstrain  and  fatigue,  with  resulting  lower  production, 
will  obviously  vary  with  the  nature  of  the  occupation 
and  with  the  conditions  under  which  the  work  is  per- 
formed. On  the  farm,  for  instance,  and  on  board  ships, 
surrounded  by  green  fields  or  green  ocean  and  fresh  air, 
the  hours  worked  may  presumably  be  longer  than  would 
be  possible  in  factories,  mines,  workshops,  foundries, 
offices,  or  stores,  where  perfect  ventilation  is  never  quite 
attainable  and  where  the  occupation  is  more  or  less  monot- 
onous. But  in  every  kind  of  work  and  employment  there 
must  be  some  limit  to  human  strength  and  endurance,  and 
experience  has  taught  us  that  between  eight  hours  a  day 
as  a  maximum  and  six  hours  a  day  as  a  minimum,  the 
safety-point  may  most  probably  be  found  to  rest.  These 


PRINCIPLES  OF  RECONSTRUCTION       231 

hours  of  daily  toil  are  what  may  be  called  the  income- 
making  period — the  remaining  hours  are  available  not 
only  for  sleep,  eating,  recreation,  and  leisure,  but  also  for 
education  and  public  service  and  all  the  refinements  of 
life.  St.  Paul  has  told  us  that  he  "laboured  with  his 
hands  that  he  might  be  chargeable  to  no  man,"  and  we 
know  that  he  was  by  trade  a  tentmaker.  The  hours  of 
labour  for  tentmakers  were,  I  am  told,  at  that  time  from 
5  a.m.  to  n  a.m.,  that  is,  six  hours  per  day,  and  the 
remaining  hours  St.  Paul  devoted  to  his  life's  work — 
service  to  his  fellow-men.  Let  us  organize  our  time  bet- 
ter. At  present  all  our  time  is  devoted  to  gathering  in- 
come for  maintenance,  as  if  we  were  so  many  cows  and 
sheep,  all  of  whose  time  we  know  is  devoted  to  the  work 
of  maintenance.  Our  factories,  foundries,  mines,  work- 
shops, stores,  offices,  and  farms,  throughout  the  British 
Empire,  are  full  of  men  or  women  with  ideals  and  ideas 
for  utilities  and  inventions  and  who,  in  addition  to  their 
capacity  for  the  work  of  income-earning  for  maintenance 
and  support  of  themselves  and  families,  are  capable  of, 
and  keen  for,  work  of  enormous  social  value  to  their 
fellows  and  the  Empire.  What  a  wealth  of  inventive 
genius  and  ideas  have  we  there  running  actually  to  waste 
through  our  bad  organization  of  their  hours  of  work 
and  their  subjection  to  overstrain  and  fatigue  in  the 
performance  of  the  daily  round  of  routine  duties  for 
income-producing!  Under  our  present  system,  each  day 
has  to  be  fully  occupied  beyond  the  fatigue-limit  in  work 
of  income-earning  for  maintenance,  with  the  result  that 
our  machinery  is  underworked  and  our  workers  are  over- 
wrought, giving  us  less  wealth,  produced  at  greater  cost 
than  need  be  the  case.  Thought  and  ideas  for  new  in- 
ventions and  processes  require  intelligence,  alertness,  and 
leisure — all  impossible  under  conditions  of  over-fatigue 
during  long  hours  of  laborious  toil.  Then  see  how  the 


232  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

wage  and  salary  fund  is  impoverished.  We  can  only 
work  our  machinery  and  mechanical  utilities  longer  hours 
by  working  human  beings  fewer  hours.  We  have  already 
exceeded  the  limit  of  human  endurance  from  school  age 
to  dotage.  But  we  can  reorganize  our  factories  so  that 
by  working  a  number  of  change  shifts  of  employee- 
workers  six  hours  each  shift  we  can  run  our  machinery 
twelve,  eighteen,  or  twenty- four  hours  each  working  day. 
The  wages  paid  at  present  for  longer  hours  would  require 
to  be  paid  for  the  fewer  hours,  and  in  order  to  do  this 
the  total  cost  of  production,  which  is  partly  interest,  de- 
preciation and  repairs  for  machinery,  all  of  which  would 
be  little  if  at  all  increased  by  the  additional  hours  worked, 
would  on  an  increase  of  from  50  to  200  per  cent,  in  the 
output  give  us  lower  costs  out  of  which  wages  could  be 
increased  and  selling  price  to  customers  reduced.  And, 
believe  me,  it  is  impossible  to  lay  too  strong  emphasis  on 
this  crux  of  the  whole  proposal,  which  is  the  one  and 
only  basis  which  would  make  reduced  hours  and  higher 
wages  possible,  namely,  reduced  final  costs  and  lower 
selling  prices  for  the  consumer,  with  more  wages  to  the 
worker  and  fewer  hours  of  toil.  The  employer-capitalist 
could,  of  course,  work  with  a  lower  percentage  of  profit 
and  yet  realize  on  his  increased  production  a  larger  in- 
come to  meet  the  demands  made  upon  him  for  higher 
graduation  in  rates  of  income  tax. 

But  in  addition  to  a  better  organization  of  time  in  our 
industries,  we  require  to  still  further  advance  in  the  direc- 
tion of  a  more  logical  basis  in  the  relationship  between  the 
employer-capitalist  and  the  employee-worker.  There 
must  be  some  consideration  given  to  the  division  between 
these  two  of  the  profit  resulting  from  the  joint  labour  of 
both.  The  wages  system  alone  is  not  sufficient,  but  the 
wages  system  must  of  necessity  remain  the  basis  for  the 
employee-worker.  It  is  a  system  that  has  stood  the  test 


PRINCIPLES  OF  RECONSTRUCTION       233 

of  time;  it  is  convenient;  it  is  logical  and  practicable. 
Under  the  wages  system  the  employee-worker  practically 
says  to  the  employer-capitalist :  "  I  cannot  undertake  to 
bear  any  of  the  risks  of  this  business.  I  must  receive  a 
weekly  or  monthly  income,  regularly,  upon  which  I  can 
absolutely  rely  and  depend  for  my  household  expenses: 
therefore,  if  I  engage  with  you  we  must  mutually  first 
agree  on  a  sum  which  you  shall  pay  me  as  wages  or 
salary  in  exchange  for  my  services.  If  after  paying  this 
sum  of  money  to  myself  and  also  after  your  payment 
of  all  other  expenses  of  the  business  there  is  a  profit 
remaining,  I  agree  that  profit  shall  be  yours.  If  there  is 
a  loss,  you  must  make  good  that  loss  yourself  alone,  even 
to  the  extent  of  bringing  ruin  and  disaster  upon  yourself 
and  your  family.  I  cannot  share  with  you  your  losses, 
and  I  agree  to  make  no  claim  upon  you  to  share  in  your 
profits."  This,  I  repeat,  is  the  logic  of  the  present  wages 
system,  and  it  is  perfectly  sound  and  just  in  its  basis  and 
principles. 

The  admission  to  Co-Partnership  is  not  a  right  that 
the  employee-worker  can  of  necessity  claim.  It  is  obvious 
that  there  must  always  be  the  right  with  each  of  us  to 
choose  our  partners  by  mutual  consent  if  the  true  Co- 
Partnership  spirit  is  to  be  maintained.  The  employer- 
capitalist  can  choose  his  partners,  and  does  choose  them, 
from  those  who  can  give  him  the  best  help  and  can  best 
strengthen  his  business,  either  by  contribution  of  capital 
or  assistance  in  the  management  of  the  business;  and  in 
making  this  selection  of  partners  every  care  and  effort 
is  directed  to  avoiding  entering  into  a  partnership  that 
may  prove  undesirable  in  practice.  The  happiest  and 
most  successful  relationships  in  business  life  have  been 
realized  under  the  partnership  system,  and  it  is  equally 
true  that  occasionally,  from  various  causes  unforeseen  at 
the  time,  private  partnerships  have  proved  disastrous, 


234  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

both  from  the  point  of  view  of  prosperity  of  the  busi- 
ness and  the  happiness  of  the  partners.  But  the  intention 
has  always  been  the  same,  namely,  to  help  and  strengthen 
the  business  and  to  share  the  responsibility  and  risks  of 
the  business  between  the  partners.  I  am  confident  that, 
viewed  in  this  light  and  not  as  a  profit-sharing  device, 
which  in  my  opinion  would  be  wrong,,  a  Co-Partnership 
relationship  with  the  employee-worker  would  be  an  added 
source  of  strength  to  any  business  to  which  it  could  be  ap- 
plied, and  increase  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  both 
the  employer-capitalist  and  the  employee-worker.  The 
principles  of  Co-Partnership  between  these  two  would  be 
as  logical  and  as  sound  and  practical  a  business  arrange- 
ment as  between  any  body  of  partners,  and  one  that  might 
be  just  as  wisely  entered  upon. 

Under  the  operation  of  our  modern  industrial  develop- 
ments, capital  is  generally  raised  from  a  body  of  share- 
holders, in  the  form  of  ordinary  shares.  These  ordinary 
shareholders  divide  amongst  themselves  the  total  remain- 
ing profits  of  the  business  after  payment  of  all  claims  for 
salaries,  wages,  interest,  and  other  prior  charges.  The 
ordinary  shareholders  of  a  company  are  practically  the 
partners  who  control  the  destinies  of  the  company  by  their 
vote,  but  it  is  very  rare  for  any  of  them  to  be  engaged 
actively  in  the  business  as  employee-workers.  It  can 
never  be  a  source  of  strength  to  the  business  that  the 
whole  of  the  surplus  profits,  after  paying  a  reasonable 
and  proper  rate  of  interest,  should  be  entirely  devoted  to 
dividends  to  ordinary  shareholders.  I  am  convinced  that 
the  best  interests  of  the  ordinary  shareholders  would  be 
better  served,  both  in  regard  to  the  rate  per  cent,  of  their 
dividends  and  the  security  of  their  capital,  if  the  surplus 
profits  could  be  divided,  under  some  scheme  of  Co- 
Partnership,  between  the  employee-workers  and  the  ordi- 
nary shareholders  of  the  business. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  RECONSTRUCTION      235 

It  is  not  in  the  best  interests  of  the  success  of  any  busi- 
ness not  the  progress  and  development  of  British  in- 
dustries as  a  whole  that  the  entire  surplus  profits  should 
take  only  one  channel,  and  that  channel  a  direction  away 
from  those  most  interested  in  the  business,  and  upon 
whom  must  depend  the  continued  success  of  the  business. 
It  would  riot  be  right  to  view  this  question  of  Co-Partner- 
ship  from  any  benevolent  point  of  view.  There  can  be  no 
philanthropy  in  business.  But  the  cultivation  of  a  spirit 
of  Co-Partnership  and  of  a  keen  interest  in  the  firm  in 
which  the  employee-workers  are  engaged  is  not  philan- 
thropy but  sound  policy.  The  whole  of  the  goodwill  of 
any  business,  which  goodwill  is  often  of  greater  value 
than  the  actual  bricks  and  mortar,  plant  and  machinery, 
depends  on  mutual  confidence.  The  employer-capitalist 
and  the  ordinary  shareholders  to-day  view  the  employee- 
worker  solely  as  a  liability.  Employees  are  not  liabili- 
ties, but  the  most  valuable  asset  of  any  business. 

An  objection  often  raised  to  Profit-Sharing,  and  I 
think  rightly  raised,  is  that  there  can  be  no  Loss-Sharing. 
Under  the  system  of  Co-Partnership,  Loss-Sharing  can 
be  linked  up  with  participation  in  profits.  After  all,  what 
are  the  losses  of  capital  for  the  employer-capitalist  ?  His 
losses  of  capital  are  that  certain  shares  that  he  holds,  by 
purchase  or  original  application  and  payment,  have  be- 
come valueless  because  they  have  ceased  to  have  earning 
capacity.  One  has  often  heard  of  shares  in  some  com- 
pany that  have  entirely  lost  their  earning  capacity  being 
only  fit  to  make  into  spills  to  light  cigarettes  with — their 
capital  value  has  become  nil.  Equally,  the  Co-Partnership 
certificates  issued  under  a  scheme  of  Co-Partnership  to 
the  employee-workers  would  be  only  so  many  specimens 
of  printing  and  absolutely  valueless,  if  the  power  of  the 
business  to  earn  profits  had  ceased,  notwithstanding  all  the 
efforts  of  employer-capitalist  and  employee-co-partner. 


236  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

It  is  quite  obvious  that  under  a  system  of  Co-Partner- 
ship,  whereby  an  employee-worker  receives  each  year  an 
allotment  of  Co-Partnership  certificates,  in  proportion  to 
the  amount  of  his  salary  or  wages  and  the  length  and 
value  of  his  services,  and  which  Co-Partnership  certify 
cates  are,  during  the  Co-Partner's  connection  with  the 
firm,  entitled  to  dividends  in  proportion  to  the  dividends 
paid  to  the  ordinary  shareholders,  the  Co-Partner  would 
see  the  number  of  Co-Partnership  certificates  growing 
each  year.  He  would  experience  the  fact  and  realize  the 
cause  why  dividends  in  some  years  were  higher  than 
others,  and  why  in  some  years,  from  unavoidable  causes, 
dividends  might  fail  to  be  earned  or  paid.  He  would 
realize  the  direct  connection  between  profits  and  all  the 
problems  that  the  Management  have  to  solve  in  a  business, 
and  in  this  way  the  employer-capitalist  would  have  se- 
cured a  partner  whose  brain  would  be  at  work  as  well  as 
his  hands  in  effecting  economies  and  avoiding  waste  in  the 
business,  and  in  making  suggestions  for  the  improvement 
of  processes  and  improvement  in  the  organization  of  the 
time  of  himself  and  comrades,  so  that  profits  might  be 
increased  and  higher  dividends  be  paid. 

I  claim  that  the  employer-capitalist  is  not  reasonable 
if  he  expects,  in  exchange  for  wages,  any  more  than  the 
performance  of  the  services  which  he  has  contracted 
for.  But  in  addition  to  services  that  could  be  rendered 
on  a  wages  system,  there  is  that  constant  thought  and 
care  outside  business  hours  equally  as  during  business 
hours  for  the  good  of  the  business  which  the  employer- 
capitalist  himself  does  constantly  manifest,  or  his  capital 
would  be  in  danger  and  his  profits  might  never  material- 
ize. 

Under  a  system  of  Co-Partnership  the  employer-capi- 
talist would  have  all  his  employee-workers  who  had  been 
with  him  a  certain  number  of  years  as  Co-Partners,  now 


PRINCIPLES  OF  RECONSTRUCTION      237 

realizing  that  their  interest  in  the  business  equally  with 
that  of  the  employer-capitalist  ran  along  the  lines  of  in- 
creased output  and  of  cheaper  costs  of  production,  and 
there  would  come  what  I  may  call  "  team-work,"  which 
in  the  Army  is,  as  you  know,  called  esprit  de  corps,  and 
which  results  in  a  spirit  of  comradeship  in  overcoming 
all  obstacles,  and  which  spirit  is  specially  manifested  in 
times  of  difficulty  and  danger. 

And  now  let  me  say  a  word  on  the  value  of  a  better 
organization  of  time  devoted  to  income-earning  in  its 
effect  on  education  of  brain,  body,  and  mind,  and  the 
power  it  would  give  the  State  for  training  citizens  for 
military  service.  In  all  change  shifts  the  shift  workers 
who  one  week  worked  in  the  morning  would  the  next 
week  work  in  the  afternoon,  so  that  there  would  be  for 
every  one  the  morning  or  afternoon  free  each  week  alter- 
nately. From  fourteen  to  eighteen  years  of  age  there 
would  be  for  boys  and  girls  two  hours  morning  or  after- 
noon each  day  required  by  the  State  to  be  devoted  to 
higher  grade  education  and  physical  training.  From 
eighteen  to  twenty-four  the  State  would  require  that  these 
two  hours  be  devoted  each  day  to  technical  and  higher 
education,  such  as  is  provided  to-day  only  in  our  Uni- 
versities, and  for  physical  training,  and  from  twenty- four 
to  thirty  years  of  age  the  State  would  require  that  these 
two  hours  each  day  be  devoted  to  military  training  and 
preparation  for  National  Service.  After  thirty  years  of 
age  the  citizen  would  have  completed  his  period  of  com- 
pulsory attendance  under  State  Regulations,  and  would 
be  fully  equipped  by  education  and  training  for  all  the 
duties  of  citizenship,  and  might  reasonably  be  trusted  to 
make,  as  did  St.  Paul,  but  in  his  own  way,  his  own  volun- 
tary contribution  to  social  advancement  and  betterment. 

But  whilst  my  endeavours  have  been  to  record  the 


238  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

views  I  hold,  and  hold  very  strongly  and  sincerely — that 
Governments  of  themselves  cannot  create  wealth,  and 
that  the  power  of  Governments  to  confiscate  or  tax  wealth 
is  strictly  limited  within  the  range  of  such  rates  as  will 
produce  the  largest  cash  income  for  the  service  of  the 
State  without  danger  of  check  or  hindrance  to  the  pro- 
duction of  wealth  and  opportunities  for  employment — 
and  whilst  I  have  endeavoured  to  show  that  we  shall 
require  the  labour  of  all  adults  of  both  sexes  and  of 
all  classes,  from  peer  to  peasant,  to  repay  our  war  indebt- 
edness and  to  provide  products  for  home  consumption 
and  for  exportation  overseas;  and  have,  further,  endeav- 
oured to  show  that  work  also  has  its  limitations  of 
profitable  production,  and  that  to  overstrain  employee- 
worker  or  employer-capitalist  is  not  to  produce  the  best 
results  from  either,  I  hold  equally  strongly  that  Govern- 
ments can  render  such  services  of  the  State  as  will  furnish 
opportunities  and  facilities,  encouragement  and  stimulus 
for  the  creation  of  wealth  by  the  citizens  who  have  en- 
trusted the  State  with  powers  of  government.  The  State 
should  and  could  make  concentrated  and  well-considered 
efforts  to  provide  every  facility  for  honourable  enterprise 
and  honest  industry.  Our  mercantile  marine  must  be 
protected  at  sea  and  provided  with  ample  harbour  and 
dock  facilities  in  the  ports  of  the  Empire.  Shipowners, 
manufacturers,  and  merchants  must  be  encouraged  and 
helped  by  an  efficient  Consular  and  Foreign  Office  service 
so  that  our  ships  may  sail  over  every  sea  and  our  flag  be 
flying  in  every  port.  The  State  can  improve  our  banking 
system  by  encouraging  and  stimulating  our  bankers  to 
render  increased  credit  facilities  for  the  manufactures, 
trade,  commerce,  and  mercantile  marine  of  the  Empire. 
In  our  Crown  Colonies  our  Government  can  construct 
roads  and  bridges,  build  railways,  open  up  new  and  rich 
territories  of  virgin  forests,  fertile  soils,  and  rich  minerals 


PRINCIPLES  OF  RECONSTRUCTION      239 

to  developers,  planters,  and  traders  on  terms  that  would 
encourage  and  justify  private  enterprise  in  the  invest- 
ment therein  of  capital.  The  State  can  improve  the  sani- 
tation and  healthiness  of  our  villages,  towns,  and  cities 
at  home  and  in  the  Colonies,  and  so  not  only  lengthen 
human  life  but  reduce  the  toll  on  productiveness  caused 
by  ill-health.  Government  can  protect  child-life  and  see 
to  its  welfare,  and  can  improve  our  educational  system 
so  that  we  get  the  utmost  in  the  finished  product  for  the 
many  millions  we  spend  upon  education,  so  that  the  child 
of  the  employee-workman  can  have  the  opportunity  of 
becoming  as  well  educated  as  the  child  of  the  employer- 
capitalist.  Government  can  remove  all  incidence  of  taxa- 
tion and  rating,  local  or  Imperial,  from  improvements 
on  land  such  as  houses  and  buildings  of  all  kinds  and 
from  machinery,  and  provide  that  all  such  taxation  and 
rating  shall,  in  future,  be  provided  from  local  and  Im- 
perial income  tax  source  and  on  site  values.  All  obsta- 
cles, in  short,  for  the  development  of  the  resources  of 
the  Empire  at  home  and  overseas  must  be  removed  and 
every  facility,  encouragement,  and  security  be  given  to 
stimulate  the  production  of  wealth,  otherwise  what  right 
or  title  have  we  members  of  the  British  race  at  home  and 
overseas  in  the  possession  and  enjoyment  of  a  world-wide 
Empire  on  which  it  is  our  boast  that  the  sun  never  sets  ? 
If  our  Government  is  not  sufficiently  far-sighted  or  so 
wise  as  to  foster  facility  and  encourage  great  industries 
capable  of  producing  enormous  surplus  wealth  by  the 
enterprise  of  her  citizens  within  this  world-wide  Empire, 
which  would  not  only  find  employment  for  all  but  pro- 
vide a  basis  for  taxation  of  incomes  that  would  enable  us 
to  repay  our  war  debts,  then  the  British  Empire  is  suffer- 
ing from  the  palsy  of  old  age,  and  we  shall  soon  cease  to 
exist  as  a  World-Power.  Empires  rise  and  fall  as  they 
are  well  and  wisely  or  badly  and  stupidly  governed. 


240  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

Under  wise  government  they  become  rich  and  powerful, 
their  ships  sail  over  every  sea  and  carry  the  national  flag 
into  every  port;  their  Colonies  cover  whole  continents; 
their  peoples  are  happy  and  contented,  well  housed  and 
well  fed,  and  not  overwrought  to  maintain  themselves 
in  comfort  in  homes  where,  with  wife  and  children, 
life  lengthens  and  joy  deepens;  their  rulers  and  statesmen 
are  honoured  and  respected  by  surrounding  nations,  who 
can  view  without  bitter  feelings  of  wrong  to  themselves 
a  world-wide  Empire  wisely  governed  with  every  facility 
and  opportunity,  and  where  welcome  is  given  to  all  right- 
minded  citizens  of  all  right-minded  nations.  Nothing  can 
be  better  for  the  progress  of  civilization  and  the  well- 
being  of  the  whole  world,  than  such  a  government  of 
such  an  Empire.  And  it  must  with  equal  truth  be  stated 
that  there  can  be  no  more  pitiable  sight  in  the  whole  world 
than  such  an  Empire  held  and  possessed  by  a  nation 
that  has  neither  the  vision  nor  the  intelligence  to  wisely 
develop  or  justly  govern.  "  Where  there  is  no  vision, 
the  people  perish." 


XIV 

SOCIALISM,  OR  EQUALITY  VS.  EQUITY 

IT  has  always  appeared  to  me  that  the  question  of  Social- 
ism or  Individualism  resolves  itself  very  largely  into  a 
question  of  Day-work  or  Piece-work.  We  require  to  pro- 
duce commodities  for  mutual  consumption,  and  Socialism 
would  appear  to  be  a  question  of  whether  these  can  best 
be  produced  by  a  system  of  Day-work,  and  Individual- 
ism to  be  a  question  as  to  whether  it  would  be  more  profit- 
able to  the  community  as  a  whole  to  produce  them  by 
what  may  be  called  Piece-work.  We  all  agree  that  evils 
exist  in  the  great  extremes  of  wealth  and  poverty  in  the 
world  to-day,  but  when  Socialists  propose  remodelling 
society  on  a  very  high  plane  of  intelligence,  they  do  so 
without  first  endeavouring  to  find  out  what  are  the  lines 
on  which  society  can  best  make  progress.  If  Socialists 
would  content  themselves  with  pointing  out  the  goal 
which  we  are  all  aiming  for,  namely,  the  greatest  possible 
amount  oi  social  well-being  and  comforts  for  all,  and 
then  if  they  would  join  in  concentrated  efforts  to  the  dis- 
covery of  what  direction  ought  to  be  taken  to  ensure  these 
benefits  in  accordance  with  the  principles  underlying  all 
society,  I  venture  to  think  that  we  should  make  greater 
progress  in  the  future  than  we  have  done  in  the  past. 
Sometimes  we  can  see,  say  in  Switzerland,  a  beautiful 
mountain  whose  summit  is  clothed  in  perpetual  sunshine, 
but  if  in  attempting  to  reach  that  summit  we  disregard  all 
the  precipices  and  ravines  that  have  to  be  crossed — make 
no  effort,  in  fact,  to  discover  the  only  road  that  can  safely 

241 


242  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

be  taken — in  all  probability  we  shall  never  arrive  at  the 
summit. 

So  with  a  higher  civilization  we  cannot  disregard  the 
constitution  of  society,  nor  can  we  disregard  the  very 
slow  rate  of  progress  we  can  make  in  the  future,  as  we 
have  made  in  the  past,  during  the  countless  ages  man- 
kind has  taken  to  develop  to  our  present  not  very  high 
state  of  civilization. 

Now,  before  we  come  to  the  question  of  its  distribu- 
tion, let  us  consider  what  are  the  elements  that  enter  into 
the  creation  of  wealth.  The  principal  elements  are  three : 
Labour,  Capital,  and  the  Employer.  It  is  not  a  question 
of  Labour  and  Capital  alone ;  the  Employer  is  as  essential 
as  the  other  two,  and  the  Employer  may  be  a  private 
individual,  or  a  Board  of  Directors,  or  a  Government 
or  State.  Labour  is  wisely  represented  when  organized 
by  Trade  Unions  working  on  their  own  individual  lines. 
Now,  in  the  production  of  commodities  the  payment  of 
wages  to  Labour  is  under  the  present  conditions  the  first 
charge  which  has  to  be  met.  The  next  fixed  charge  is  the 
payment  of  interest  on  capital.  The  payment  to  the  em- 
ployer comes  last  and  is  not  fixed :  it  is  variable.  In  fact, 
all  that  the  employer  can  get  for  his  labour  is  the  leavings 
after  Capital  and  Labour  have  received  what  has  been 
agreed  upon. 

Sometimes  there  will  be  a  loss ;  that  is  to  say,  not  only 
no  leavings  at  all,  but  an  actual  loss,  in  which  case,  after 
the  employer  has  been  exhausted,  Capital  may  share  in 
that  loss.  But  under  the  present  conditions  not  only  is 
it  a  fact,  but  it  is  a  law  of  the  land,  that  the  payment  of 
wages  must  not  suffer  loss  under  any  circumstances 
whatever.  Therefore,  under  the  present  state  of  society, 
payment  for  labour  is  a  first  charge  on  production,  equiva- 
lent to  a  first  mortgage  or  a  debenture  bond. 

Now,  what  do  the  Socialists  propose?    They  propose 


SOCIALISM,  OR  EQUALITY  VS.  EQUITY     243 

to  nationalize  all  the  implements  of  production  and  to 
make  the  State  the  owners  of  all  capital,  and  therefore 
the  one  and  only  employer.     But,  by  nationalizing  the 
implements  of  production  they  will  not  have  abolished 
capital :  they  will  have  altered  the  nominal  ownership  of 
capital,  but  they  cannot  abolish  capital,  and  for  this  reason 
— that  capital  is  essential  to  production.     Now,  let  us 
suppose  it  was  considered  that  as  a  first  step  towards 
nationalizing  the  implements  of  production,  mills,  tools, 
machinery,  and  railways  should  all  be  confiscated.     I 
don't  suppose  that  this  is  seriously  proposed  by  Socialists 
or  by  any  one,  but  we  will  imagine  for  the  moment  that 
confiscation  would  be  carried  out  and  private  ownership 
cease.    That  would  not  abolish  capital.    Railways  would 
wear  out,  mills  would  become  old-fashioned  as  to  ma- 
chinery, and  would  want  renewing;  and  how  would  this 
wearing  out  be  remedied  and  machinery  be  renewed  ?    It 
could  only  be  by  the  employment  of  labour  to  build  fresh 
mills,  to  make  fresh  railways,  and  for  this  work  labour 
would  have  to  be  paid.    To  provide  payment  for  labour, 
loans  would  have  to  be  raised  on  the  credit  of  the  nation 
as  a  whole  and  interest  on  them  would  have  to  be  paid. 
Therefore,  although  temporarily,  for  a  few  years  only, 
by  the  confiscation  of  all  the  means  of  production,  the 
private  ownership  of  the  capital  of  the  country  might 
cease,  this  would  not  be  permanent.     From  the  very 
moment  the  nation  took  over  the  implements  of  produc- 
tion there  would  be  decay  going  on,  renewal  would  be- 
come necessary,  and  capital  would  again  assume  its  posi- 
tion and  would  again  be  a  charge  on  the  undertaking. 

Neither  would  Socialists  have  abolished  the  employer, 
whose  salary  is  at  present  a  variable  quantity.  The  em- 
ployer would  still  be  required  just  as  much  in  the  na- 
tionalized industries  as  when  enterprises  were  carried  on 
by  private  individuals,  but  under  the  new  conditions  the 


244  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

employer — that  is,  the  State — would  be  represented  by 
managers,  who  would  have  to  be  paid  fixed  salaries. 
Then  we  should  have  effected  this  change  only:  that 
whereas  formerly  the  employer  took  for  remuneration 
only  the  leavings  (if  any)  of  Capital  and  Labour,  the 
employer  would  now  take,  as  manager  representing  the 
State,  a  fixed  salary  to  be  added  to  the  cost  of  produc- 
tion. 

We  have  still  got  Labour  to  consider.  Now,  we  have 
seen  that  under  the  present  system  Labour  receives  wages 
whether  production  is  successful  or  not,  and  we  have 
also  seen  that  under  the  altered  system  proposed  by 
Socialists,  managers,  representing  the  employer,  would 
require  to  receive  fixed  salaries,  whether  production  was 
successful  or  not,  and  would  rank  equal  with  Labour  as  a 
prior  charge  on  production.  When  accounts  came  to  be 
balanced  in  these  nationalized  industries,  they  could  only 
be  balanced  by  advancing  the  prices  of  the  articles  pro- 
duced, at  the  expense  of  Labour,  because  Labour  is  al- 
ways the  greatest  consumer.  The  consumption  of  prod- 
ucts being  mainly  by  Labour,  it  would  result  that  the 
wages  of  Labour  would  cease  to  be  real  and  become  nomi- 
nal; that  although  wages  had  apparently  not  been  re- 
duced, their  purchasing  power  had  been  reduced,  and  that 
therefore  Labour  would  actually  be  receiving  less  in  real 
wages,  although  the  same  in  nominal  wages:  conse- 
quently, under  the  system  proposed  by  the  Socialists, 
Labour  would  have  changed  places  with  the  employer. 

Now,  with  regard  to  the  employer.  Management,  to 
be  really  effective,  must  have  a  direct  interest  in  the  re- 
sults of  its  labour.  There  is  a  peculiar  quality,  call  it 
temperament  or  what  you  will,  about  management,  that 
is  produced  under  the  present  system  by  which  manage- 
ment is  the  employer  and  is  compelled  to  take  risks,  in- 
culcating that  alertness  and  activity  of  mind,  that  perfect 


SOCIALISM,  OR  EQUALITY  VS.  EQUITY     245 

mingling  of  caution  with  audacity,  that  grasp  of  possibil- 
ities, opportunities,  and  contingencies,  which  make  all 
the  difference  between  success  and  failure.  Therefore, 
Management,  being  paid  a  fixed  salary,  would  not  be 
brought  into  that  state  of  tension,  that  bending  of  the 
bow,  as  it  may  be  called,  which  is  so  essential  to  good 
management.  Not  being  controlled  by  Labour,  because 
Management  would  still  have  to  control  Labour;  not 
being  controlled  by  Capital,  because  Capital  would  still 
be  a  fixed  charge  on  the  business,  but  being  controlled 
perhaps  by  some  elective  body,  taking  the  form  probably 
of  a  council  appointed  or  elected  for  the  purpose,  the 
whole  temperament  of  Management  would  be  changed, 
and  I  venture  to  say  it  is  not  in  that  way  that  we  can 
improve  the  position  of  Labour.  The  bow  would  be  un- 
bent and  useless. 

The  profits  earned  by  employers  are  not  great,  if  aver- 
aged over  the  whole  of  the  industries  of  the  country. 
If  we  include  those  undertakings  which,  instead  of  mak- 
ing profits,  are  making  losses,  and  take  the  average  over 
all,  I  venture  to  say  that  employers  as  a  body  would  make 
more  money  as  managers  under  a  system  of  fixed  sala- 
ries than  under  the  present  system,  and  that  the  produc- 
tion of  goods  would  not  be  cheaper  but  dearer  under  the 
system  advocated  by  Socialists  than  under  our  present 
system,  imperfect  as  that  system  is  and  wasteful  in  many 
directions. 

One  of  the  most  clearly  defined  of  our  human  aspira- 
tions is  a  desire  for  Equality.  It  is  upon  this  yearning 
of  humanity  for  Equality  that  the  Socialist,  the  Anar- 
chist, and  the  Bolshevist  found  their  hopes  for  the  realiza- 
tion of  their  ideals  as  to  the  re-organization  of  Society. 

But  they  are  following  a  mirage  of  the  desert — a  will- 
o'-the-wisp — that  can  only  lead  them  into  a  waterless, 
barren  land,  where  hunger  and  famine  are  the  constant 


246  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

accompaniment  of  life,  or  into  a  quaking  bog  where  man- 
kind would  sink  into  slime  and  ooze  and  death. 

For  let  it  be  noted  that  this  yearning  for  Equality  is 
never  coupled  with  any  basis  of  Equity.  It  is  a  desire 
for  an  equality  that  would  divide  the  wealth  of  others 
amongst  those  who  consider  that  such  division  would 
bring  gain — not  loss — to  themselves. 

The  Trades  Unionist,  Artisan,  or  Socialist  desires  to 
share  with  his  employer,  but  will  not  agree  that  his  la- 
bourer should  share  with  himself,  nor  even  receive  the 
same  rate  of  wages  as  himself.  His  interpretation  of 
Equality  is  that  he  should  say  to  his  employer,  "  I  am 
equal  with  you,"  but  not  that  he  should  also  say  in  Equity 
to  his  labourer,  "  You  are  equal  with  me."  When  the 
Socialist  wears  khaki  he  has  to  accept  the  gradations  of 
rank  and  pay  that  follow  from  Private  to  Corporal,  from 
Sergeant  to  Lieutenant,  from  Captain  to  Colonel,  and 
so  on  up  to  Field-Marshal,  but  in  industries  the  Socialist 
claims  equality  with  all  above  him,  whilst  denying  equal- 
ity to  all  others  beneath  him.  We  all  wear  khaki  through- 
out our  lives,  invisible  to  all  eyes  but  our  own,  but  our 
own  conscience  sees  our  uniform,  and  we  appoint  our- 
selves to  our  own  rank,  and  no  man  chooses  for  us. 

The  basis  of  all  social  conditions  and  advancement  is 
the  law  of  service  to  others,  and  in  this  only  can  we 
realize  Equality  and  Equity  with  both  the  man  above 
and  the  man  below  us.  The  earliest  manifestation  of 
selection  amongst  most  primitive  men  was  that  they  chose 
as  their  King  Ruler  the  man  most  distinguished  by  prow- 
ess in  defending  them  from  their  enemies,  and  right  down 
to  the  present  day  Kings  are  looked  up  to  to  serve  their 
peoples.  When  Kings  cease  to  make  service  to  their 
peoples  their  title  to  Kingship,  and  demand  instead  serv- 
ice from  their  peoples,  that  moment  Kings  have  them- 
selves signed  their  own  abdication.  Neither  King  nor 


SOCIALISM,  OR  EQUALITY  VS.  EQUITY     247 

Priest,  nor  politician,  nor  people,  nor  capitalist,  nor  em- 
ployer, nor  employee-worker  who  has  ceased  to  serve  can 
survive,  and  no  Socialist  "  cure-all  "  can  produce  equality 
in  value  or  fruits  of  service  until  our  Creator  sends  us 
into  this  world  all  equal  in  health,  strength,  energy,  and 
ability.  There  will  always  be  gradation  of  rank  of  serv- 
ice from  King  to  peasant,  from  Field-Marshal  to  Private, 
from  Admiral  to  Jack  Tar.  Equally  by  service  and  by 
service  alone  in  Business,  Science,  or  Art  come  gradations 
in  rank  and  advancement. 

Gigantic  combinations,  whether  called  Trade  Unions  or 
Trusts,  or  Labour  or  Capital,  which  are  solely  concerned 
with  their  own  selfish,  narrow  aims  and  ideals  cannot 
succeed  or  continue  any  more  than  a  one-winged  bird 
can  fly.  Their  continuance  depends  on  their  fulfilling 
the  eternal  law  of  service.  That  great  truth  is  as  im- 
mutable as  the  law  of  gravitation,  and  service  means,  to 
work  for  and  to  serve  others.  It  does  not  mean  "  ca' 
canny  "  by  a  "  Trade  Unionist,"  or  slackness  and  com- 
petition dodging  by  the  Employer-Combine;  nor  does 
service  for  others  mean  overstrain  or  work  beyond  limits 
of  continuance  in  frenzied  competition  with  fellow-man 
— that  is  War,  not  Service.  The  Employer-Capitalist  or 
Employer- Worker,  or  Socialist,  or  Anarchist,  who  thinks 
only  of  Equality  and  ignores  the  Equity  of  service,  will 
stand  no  chance  of  survival  under  modern  social  con- 
ditions of  life.  Life  is  a  game  that  must  be  played  with 
scrupulous  fairness.  The  outstanding  law  of  life  is  serv- 
ice to  others  and  just  and  equal  rights  and  liberties  for 
all.  Life  will  not  surrender  a  bishop  for  a  knight,  nor 
a  queen  for  a  rook.  However  alert  we  may  be  we  shall 
never  catch  Equity  napping  in  that  way. 

Either  by  ourselves  directly,  or  by  our  fathers  or  fore- 
fathers, the  corresponding  service  must  have  been  ren- 
dered. We  can  inherit  good  health  or  ill-health,  strength 


248  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

or  weakness,  strong  mentality  or  feeble-mindedness, 
energy  or  slackness,  application  or  inertia,  with  their 
corresponding  rewards  or  punishments  "  to  the  third  or 
fourth  generation  of  those  that  serve.'*  No  typewriter 
or  calculating  machine  more  correctly  records  the  key  we 
ourselves  or  our  ancestors  have  struck  than  does  Life 
record  our  service,  be  it  high  or  low,  noble  or  mean. 
Equity  is  depicted  as  silent  but  scrupulously  just  and 
pitiless.  Nature  or  Equity — call  it  what  we  will — knows 
no  pity.  The  game  of  life  is  difficult  and  our  antagon- 
ist Equity  is  wary  and  adept,  but  victory  always  rests 
with  the  man  whose  life  conforms  most  successfully  to 
the  rules  of  service.  Equity  or  Nature  is  always  more 
than  willing  to  be  checkmated  by  the  man  of  boldness  who 
brings  courage  and  efficiency  and  noble  service  to  the 
game.  And  equally  true  it  is  that  Equity  will  exact  the 
fullest  price  for  every  false  move  and  for  every  error 
and  blunder  of  ourselves  or  of  our  forefathers.  Nature 
or  Equity — call  it  what  we  will — is  absolutely  infallible. 
Judas  thought  to  sell  his  Lord  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver 
and  make  a  profit  on  the  deal.  But  he  only  sold  himself 
and  brought  about  his  own  suicide.  Cain  sought  his 
own  happiness  by  killing  Abel,  but  he  only  achieved 
his  own  misery  and  undoing.  And  these  truths  are  writ- 
ten large  through  all  the  pages  of  History.  All  down  the 
echoing  vaults  of  time  there  comes  only  one  recorded  note 
as  the  basis  of  success,  and  that  note  is — service  to  others. 
It  is  quite  out  of  the  power  of  any  one  of  us  to  escape 
from  our  ego  any  more  than  we  can  escape  from  our  own 
shadow  in  an  open  field  on  a  sunny  day.  Our  ego  is 
the  central  force  of  our  very  life  and  being,  and  con- 
sequently we  are  all  by  nature  Individualists  and  not 
Socialists.  We  are  all  egoists  just  as  surely  as  snow  is 
white  and  coal  is  black.  All  snow  is  not  alike  in  white- 
ness, but  all  snow  is  white.  All  coal  is  not  alike  in  black- 


SOCIALISM,  OR  EQUALITY  VS.  EQUITY     249 

ness,  but  all  coal  is  black.  And  so  we  may  each  of  us 
differ  individually,  but  we  are  all  egoists — we  cannot 
avoid  being  so  if  we  would  and  we  would  not  if  we  could. 
But  rich  or  poor,  high-born  or  low-bred,  saint  or  sinner, 
peer  or  peasant,  philosopher  or  fool,  wolfish  or  lamb- 
like, bold  or  timid,  courageous  or  cowardly,  we  are  all 
egoists. 

Even  whole  nations  are  egoists.  The  Germanic  nation 
are  egoists  in  their  ideals  of  "  Mittel  Europa  "  and  world 
domination.  Great  Britain,  France,  Italy,  United  States 
and  their  Allies  are  egoists  in  opposing  this  Germanic 
ideal.  All  our  best  Heroes,  Statesmen  and  Citizens  have 
been  egoists,  and  believing  in  themselves  have  worked 
for  human  happiness,  have  saved  mankind  from  disaster, 
or  have  deluged  the  world  with  blood,  suffering,  hard- 
ships and  misery  according  to  their  ideals  and  ideals 
of  their  ego.  Lincoln,  Washington,  Cromwell,  Pitt, 
Wellington,  Nelson,  Napoleon,  Caesar,  and  Alexander 
were  all  egoists  of  different  ideas  and  ideals.  An  ignoble 
idea  of  self,  a  weak,  feeble  egoism  is  the  root  of  all 
evil  more  surely  than  any  other  cause. 

As  is  the  compensating  balance  to  the  watch,  or  the 
safety  valve  to  the  boiler,  so  is  the  power  of  self-criticism 
and  self -valuation  to  our  ego.  The  power  of  self-criti- 
cism must  be  as  true  and  exact  as  a  beam  scale  with  just 
balances  founded  on  accurate  self-knowledge.  It  is  when 
bur  ego  is  self-judged  by  the  power  of  self-criticism  that 
it  leads  us  to  power  and  dominance  over  all  the  forces 
which  oppose  our  aims  and  ideals.  We  can  only  fulfil  our 
full  and  useful  service  when  we  have  impartially  sub- 
jected our  ego  to  the  searchlight  of  self-criticism. 

The  unique  attribute  of  the  successful  man,  who  does 
accomplish  results  as  compared  with  the  mere  dreamer, 
is  this  power  of  self-criticism.  The  great  power  of  an 
ideal  is  not  so  much  in  the  ideal  but  in  the  balanced  ego- 


250  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

ism  of  the  idealist.  If  he  be  a  true  egoist  then  he  pos- 
sesses the  inward  strength  to  realize  his  ideal.  Without 
this  inward  force  of  the  egoist  the  ideal  will  never  pro- 
gress beyond  a  dream. 

The  world  owes  its  position  and  advancement  to-day 
not  to  self-distrust  and  self-effacement,  but  to  the  self- 
centred  individualists,  well-balanced  egoists  who,  with 
confidence  in  themselves  and  faith  in  their  ideals,  have 
dared  and  done  all  for  their  realization  and  achievement. 
It  has  been  said  that  the  British  are  a  nation  of  shop- 
keepers; that  the  Americans  are  thinking  only  of  the 
dollars;  and  Bismarck  had  a  saying  that  Germany  was 
a  nation  of  servants.  Her  soldiers  are  drilled  units  of 
humanity.  Her  workmen  are  dragooned  into  service, 
but  they  are  consequently,  as  rank  and  file,  not  equal  in 
ego  to  the  rank  and  file  of  other  races.  They  lack  the  ego 
of  individualism  and  its  power  of  initiative. 

We  are  egoists  because  we  are  human.  We  serve  with 
our  ego  the  happiness  of  others  because  we  are  Divine  as 
well  as  human.  It  is  the  Divine  in  us  that  triumphs  al- 
ways and  ever;  it  is  the  base  in  our  ego  that  lowers  and 
destroys  us.  But  through  it  all  our  ego  is  to  each  of  us 
what  the  sun  is  to  Nature,  and  we  can  no  more  triumph 
without  our  ego  than  Nature  can  produce  food  and 
flowers  without  the  central  radiance  and  power  of  the 
sun. 

But  whatever  we  call  ourselves — Individualist,  Social- 
ist, or  Anarchist — we  cannot  escape  by  adoption  of  any 
name  or  badge  the  obligation  laid  upon  us  of  service  for 
others.  That  must  be  our  highest  ideal  and  the  goal  to 
which  we  travel  in  our  national  and  personal  aims  and 
ambitions.  And  let  us  consider  the  joy  of  ideals  founded 
on  service  to  others.  First,  there  is  the  joy  of  the  ideal 
itself,  the  inspiration.  Then  our  inspiration  to  achieve 
that  ideal.  Then  the  joy  of  tireless  and  ceaseless  applica- 


SOCIALISM,  OR  EQUALITY  VS.  EQUITY     251 

tion  to  overcome  all  obstacles  and  difficulties,  and,  lastly, 
the  final  joy  of  realization. 

But  we  so  often  fix  our  attention  too  much  on  the  goal 
of  our  ideals  rather  than  on  the  best  methods  to  adopt  to 
make  sure  of  reaching  that  goal.  The  point  is  not  how 
high  we  can  climb  or  how  far  we  can  travel  each  day,  or 
year,  or  life-time,  to  reach  our  goal,  but  to  see  that  our 
methods  are  true  and  right  for  ourselves  and  posterity. 
If  we  are  to  concentrate  solely  on  our  ideals  and  not 
equally  concentrate  on  methods  that  will  stand  the  test 
of  all  conditions  of  time,  then  we  are  no  more  likely 
to  reach  the  summit  than  would  be  an  Alpine  Climber 
who,  with  eyes  fixed  on  mountain  peaks,  ignored  the 
ravines,  precipices,  rivers  and  glaciers  he  had  to  traverse 
and  overcome. 

The  Socialist  would  look  to  attain  a  higher  state  of 
civilization  by  the  giving  of  all  power  to  Governments. 
The  Anarchist  would  hope  to  attain  the  same  ends  by  the 
denial  of  any  power  to  Governments.  There  have  always 
been  two  types  of  Government — one  nearest  to  Socialistic 
ideals,  and  the  other  nearest  to  Individualistic  ideals,  but 
there  is  no  record  of  social  life  in  communities  without 
Governments.  From  the  days  of  ancient  Egypt  and 
ancient  Rome  there  have  been  Governments  that  pauper- 
ized the  people ;  that  gave  doles  for  a  cheap  loaf ;  doles  for 
house-building  that  the  workman  might  pay  less  for  his 
bread  and  less  rent  for  his  house  than  he  had  received 
for  his  labour  as  the  cost  of  their  production.  This  type 
of  Government  is  considered  by  Socialists  to  be  the 
protector  and  guardian  of  the  people,  and  is  said  to  live 
and  exist  for  the  people.  The  other  type  of  Govern- 
ment gives  no  doles  for  cheap  bread  or  cheap  houses. 
It  believes  that  the  individual  should  be  a  freeman  and 
self-supporting.  It  concentrates  on  Justice  and  Equity 
and  equal  rights  for  all;  favouritism  or  pauperizing  for 


252  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

none.  This  Government  is  proud  of  its  reputation  that 
its  policy  is  to  encourage  the  people  to  live  for  them- 
selves. 

Every  act  of  the  Socialistic  Government  makes  each 
man's  penny — the  penny  of  those  who  receive  Govern- 
ment doles  equally  with  the  penny  of  all  others — worth 
less  than  one  penny.  Every  act  of  the  Individualistic  Gov- 
ernment makes  each  man's  penny  worth  more  than  one 
penny  in  the  comfort,  health,  and  happiness  it  places 
within  his  reach. 

Reward  must  be  linked  to  effort,  and  without  effort 
there  can  be  no  reward.  It  is  only  when  we  play  the 
game  of  life,  not  on  the  basis  of  asking  and  looking  for 
doles  and  grants  from  Governments,  not  on  the  basis  of 
"  ca'  canny "  or  cunning,  but  on  the  basis  of  whole- 
hearted service  for  others,  that  we  can  reach  the  sublime 
heights  for  ourselves,  and  make  it  the  easier  for  all 
others  to  reach  there  and  to  attain  to  a  full  and  complete 
life  of  happiness. 

Who  can  set  a  limit  on  the  influence  of  a  human  being 
for  good  or  ill?  But  we  are  poor  and  feeble  whatever 
may  be  our  wealth  or  health,  if  we  lack  the  leisure  to 
satisfy  healthy  wants  of  mind  and  soul  as  well  as  of 
muscle  and  body.  Material,  individual,  and  national 
progress  is  inseparably  interlocked  with  the  progress  and 
development  of  men,  women,  and  children  as  individuals. 
We  have  seen  in  Russia  the  collapse  of  hopes  for  better- 
ment founded  on  the  fallacies  of  Socialistic  theories.  We 
are  a  democratic  nation  living  under  the  finest  and  most 
sane  and  stable  form  of  Government  the  world  has  ever 
known — a  Constitutional  Monarchy — and  it  would  be 
nothing  less  than  a  scandal  if  we,  a  democratic  nation 
and  empire,  could  organize  successfully  for  War  at  short 
notice,  as  we  have  done,  and  could  not  equally  success- 
fully and  rapidly  organize  for  Peace. 


SOCIALISM,  OR  EQUALITY  FAS'.  EQUITY     253 

There  is  a  saying  amongst  sailors  that  if  the  wind 
were  always  south-west  by  west  then  children  might  take 
ships  to  sea.  But  we  British  with  our  brave  Allies  have 
for  over  four  long  years  on  individualistic,  democratic 
principles  success  fuly  weathered  the  tornado  hurricane 
of  this  present  World  War,  and  surely  we  can  success- 
fully navigate  in  the  calmer  winds  of  Peace.  Our  only 
ally  that  has  dropped  out  has  been  the  Ally  misled  by 
Socialistic  fallacies,  but  that  Ally  will,  let  us  all  hope, 
yet  turn  from  these  fallacies  and,  rejoining  her  friends, 
achieve  liberty  and  freedom. 

Our  greatest  hindrance  for  betterment  reconstruction 
after  the  War  will  be  that  we  always  find  it  difficult  to 
shake  ourselves  clear  of  prejudice  and  preference  for 
former  habits  and  lines  of  thought.  The  inertia  of 
former  habits  of  thought  and  habits  of  action  is  difficult 
to  overcome,  and  inertia  makes  cowards  of  us  all.  But 
science  was  making  rapid  progress,  and  moving  with 
accelerated  speed  during  the  War,  and  will  move  with 
still  more  rapid  strides  immediately  Peace  follows  on 
IWar. 

It  is  true  that  as  marked  by  figures  on  a  calendar  there 
is  a  greater  interval  of  time  from  the  days  of  Adam  to 
the  days  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton  than  from  the  days  of  Sir 
Isaac  Newton  to  to-day.  But  as  marked  by  the  progress 
of  science,  civilization  and  of  the  unlocking  of  the  secrets 
of  Nature  by  man,  and  his  acquisition  of  correct  knowl- 
edge of  the  universe  and  of  the  infinite  power  of  such 
natural  forces  as  electricity,  there  has  been  a  greater  span 
and  interval  from  the  days  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton  to  the 
present  time  than  in  all  the  preceding  centuries  since  the 
foundations  of  this  world  were  laid. 

It  is  Science,  and  the  wealth  of  Capital  and  mechanical 
utilities  made  possible  by  Science,  that  have  raised  man- 
kind from  a  race  of  cave-dwellers  clothed  in  skins  of 


254  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

beasts  into  house-dwellers  clothed  in  scarlet  and  fine  linen. 
And  yet  it  is  these  very  modern  conditions  of  life  that 
have  given  us  power  for  increased  production,  accom- 
panied by  lessened  exertion,  that  are  viewed  as  powers 
that  can  be  made  to  produce  greater  well-being  if  they 
are  accompanied  by  a  policy  of  "  ca'  canny."  The  work- 
man fears  the  mechanical  utility,  believing  it  reduces  em- 
ployment, and  is  obsessed  with  the  fallacy  that  Capital 
and  the  Capitalist,  which  have  made  Science  and  ma- 
chinery possible,  are  the  sworn  enemies  of  the  workers, 
whilst  a  closer  examination  of  these  operations  would 
prove  that  both  are  the  best  friends  the  workers  and 
mankind  have  ever  enjoyed  for  the  service  of  man.  But 
to  the  ignorant  or  partially  informed  the  truths  of  knowl- 
edge and  facts  of  history  do  not  exist  any  more  than 
if  they  were  not.  The  present-day  attitude  of  Trades 
Unionists  to  labour-saving  machinery  is  just  as  logical 
as  if  our  cave-dwelling  ancestors  had  decided  that  the 
first  inventors  of  bows  and  arrows,  canoes,  and  fishing 
nets  or  clubs  and  spears  for  the  men  who  hunted,  fished, 
or  fought,  were  likely  to  bring  about  periods  of  dis- 
tress through  over-production  by  giving  increased  facili- 
ties for  securing  more  game  and  fish,  and  better  defence 
from  attack,  involving  social  danger  that  might  bring 
ruin  in  its  train  if  not  "  cabined,  cribbed,  and  confined  " 
by  "  ca'  canny  "  methods. 

We  are  told  that  the  cave-dweller  had  a  shallow,  reced- 
ing skull  fashioned  like  an  inverted  saucer  and  which 
skull  held  little  more  than  a  spoonful  of  brains.  He  did 
not  worry  about  Socialism  or  any  other  "  ism  ";  and  let  us 
thank  God  that  he  had  brains  enough  to  see  that  the  in- 
ventor who  invented  for  him  the  mechanical  utility,  crude 
as  it  was,  of  a  bow  and  arrow  that  enabled  him  to  kill 
the  fleeing  deer  without  the  necessity  of  running  himself 
off  his  legs  on  foot  chasing  after  the  deer,  or  who  in- 


SOCIALISM,  OR  EQUALITY  VS.  EQUITY     255 

vented  the  mechanical  utility  of  the  canoe  and  nets  which 
enabled  him  to  catch  more  fish  in  an  hour  than  he  could 
take  in  a  month  without  them,  or  who  invented  the  club 
and  spear  that  enabled  him  the  better  to  defend  his  wife 
and  children  from  attacks  of  enemies,  and  so  live  in 
greater  security  and  comfort,  could  not  possibly  be  other 
than  his  friend;  and  that  every  mechanical  utility  that 
enabled  him  to  produce  more  food  and  clothing  with 
less  exertion,  and  in  greater  safety  for  his  wife,  children 
and  himself,  was  something  to  be  sought  after  and  to  be 
employed  without  hesitation  or  doubt  as  to  future  ill 
effects. 

The  greatest  of  our  utilities  to-day  for  the  production 
of  more  food  and  clothing,  with  greater  safety  and  com- 
fort for  our  wives,  our  children  and  ourselves,  is  Capital; 
for  Capital  is  the  result  of  the  developed  heart  and  mind 
of  man  which  has  enabled  him  to  produce  more  than  he 
consumes.  Hence  we  get  stored-up  Capital.  Capital 
to-day  is  mankind's  best  friend,  which  with  magic  wand, 
harnesses  the  waste  forces  of  Nature  into  the  service  of 
mankind,  making  the  desert  places  and  wildernesses  of 
the  earth  to  blossom  and  bring  forth  food  and  clothing 
and  to  provide  comforts  for  our  sheltering  homes.  And 
yet  Capital  and  the  so-called  Capitalist  system  is  the  most 
abused,  the  most  misunderstood  and  probably  the  best 
hated  of  our  institutions.  Without  Capital  and  the  Capi- 
talist there  could  be  no  machinery,  no  mechanical  utilities, 
or  opening  up  and  development  of  our  Colonies  or  of  the 
distant  waste  lands  from  the  frozen  North  or  South  poles 
through  the  torrid  tropics  and  temperate  zones.  Unless 
some  one  had  rendered  service  to  others  by  self-denial,  in 
order  to  save  up  Capital  with  which  to  purchase  machin- 
ery and  mechanical  utilities,  our  feeble  physical  strength 
could  not  produce  one-hundredth  part  of  the  food,  cloth- 
ing, shelter,  and  bare  necessities  of  life  required  to  main- 


256  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

tain  our  highly  civilized  modern  life  at  one  tithe  of  its 
present  level  of  comfort,  health,  and  happiness. 

Capital,  machinery,  and  mechanical  utilities,  plough, 
sow,  cultivate,  and  harvest  our  fields ;  milk  our  cows  and 
prepare  our  food  ready  for  consumption;  spin,  weave, 
and  make  our  clothing;  dress  our  leather  and  make  our 
boots  and  shoes;  make  our  furniture  and  carpets,  and 
erect  our  houses,  build  our  ships,  locomotives,  and  en- 
gines; and  by  electricity  can  light  and  heat  our  homes, 
cook  our  food,  clean  our  knives  and  our  boots.  A  vacuum 
cleaner  will  sweep  our  floors,  carpets,  and  curtains.  Ma- 
chines typewrite  our  letters,  add,  subtract,  and  multiply 
our  calculations  for  us,  set  up  the  type  for  and  print  off 
our  newspapers,  and,  in  fact,  perform  for  us,  without 
entailing  strain  or  overwork  on  ourselves,  thousands  of 
services  too  numerous  to  describe,  which,  without  the  aid 
of  Capital,  machinery,  and  mechanical  utilities  we  could 
never  by  our  own  feeble  strength  accomplish. 

Capital,  machinery,  and  mechanical  utilities  bear  our 
heaviest  burdens  for  us  and  prevent  our  own  backs  from 
being  broken  under  the  heavy  load  we  would  otherwise 
have  to  bear,  or  be  forced  to  return  to  the  misery  and 
discomfort  of  the  life  of  our  ancestors,  the  cave-dwellers. 
If  Capital,  machinery,  and  mechanical  production  were 
withdrawn  from  the  world  to-morrow,  or  their  service 
to  mankind  curtailed,  or  hindered,  or  arrested,  this  would 
cause  millions  of  our  fellow  creatures  to  perish,  and 
force  the  remainder  to  exist  in  abject  misery  and  wretch- 
edness. In  awe  and  wonder  we  exclaim  this  is  a  machine 
age,  and  that  it  is  all  too  wonderful  for  us  to  understand 
or  realize,  or  adequately  appreciate. 

But  the  modern  street-corner  orators  and  Socialists, 
and  large  masses  of  employee-workers,  and  ill-informed 
Trades  Unionists  attack  what  they  are  constantly  de- 
nouncing as  the  "  Capitalist  system,"  and  they  speak  of 


SOCIALISM,  OR  EQUALITY  VS.  EQUITY     257 

"  Wage  Slavery,"  "  Capital,"  "  Machinery  "  as  the  cause 
of  each  and  every  ill  that  a  distorted  imagination  can 
depict.     Even  religion  and  Christianity  are  described  as 
part  of  the  Capitalist  system  of  "  Wage  Slavery."     If 
our  Christian  religion  and  its  Founder  teach  us  that  our 
own  well-being  and  happiness  are  absolutely  dependent 
for  realization  on  the  extent  of  our  own  services  and 
the  services  of  our  fathers  and  forefathers  to  our  fellow- 
man,  and  that  service  to  our  fellow-man  is  a  duty  we  can 
never  disregard  without  bringing  suffering  also  on  our- 
selves, then  revolutionary  orators  declare  that  religion  is 
a  device  of  the  so-called  "  Capitalist  system "  for  the 
enslavement  of  mankind,  and  is  "  fundamentally  "  wrong, 
and  one  that  must  bq  abolished  by  the  "  proletariat " 
as  the  enemy  of  the  people.    Talk  to  the  man  who  would 
carry  the  "  Red  Flag "  through  the  land,  talk  to  the 
Socialist  or  Anarchist  of  increasing  production,  or  of 
volume  of  output  and  its  relation  to  the  costs  of  pro- 
duction, and  you  receive  a  vacant  stare  from  out  their 
bloodshot  eyes  and  a  scornful  reference  to  "  Capitalism  " 
and  "  Wage  Slavery."     They  hold  all  increases  in  pro- 
duction as  solely  the  exploitation  of  the  workers,  and  they 
view  machinery  and  mechanical  production  as  part  of  a 
"  Capitalist  System  "  and  "  Wage  Slavery  "  to  be  met  and 
defeated  only  by  Trades  Unionist  secret  rules  for  limit- 
ing output  by  "  ca'  canny  "  methods.    Abolish  the  "  Capi- 
talist System,"  abolish  "  Payment  of  Interest,"  abolish  the 
"  Wage  System,"  confiscate  all  wealth,  let  all  the  indus- 
tries of  the  country  be  run  by  Committees  of  Workmen 
without  Capitalist  heads  to  guide,  direct,  and  control,  and 
they  declare  we  shall  then  have  discovered  the  secret  of 
"  Perpetual  Motion "  in  our  industries,  the  "  Philoso- 
pher's Stone  "  of  Government,  the  "  Elixir  of  Life  "  for 
social  well-being,  and  the  "  Transmutation "  of  baser 
metals  into  gold  for  every  employee-worker,  and  finally 


258  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

that  but  for  the  so-called  "  Capitalist  System  "  and  so- 
called  "  Wage  Slavery  "  mankind  would  bask  in  the 
perpetual  sunshine  of  satisfied  wants  and  realized  ideals 
without  any  corresponding  labour. 

This  mental  outlook  of  the  Socialist  and  Anarchist  has 
been  cartooned  by  a  satirist  in  a  French  journal,  who 
depicted  some'  Bolshevik  workman  reading  a  poster  put 
out  by  the  Bolshevik  Russian  Government,  which  reads, 
"  Our  soldiers  and  citizens  are  without  bread  and  all 
other  necessaries.  Let  every  citizen  do  his  duty  and 
work " — the  Bolshevik  workman's  comment  being, 
"  Work ! !  Our  Government  has  betrayed  us.  The  Capi- 
talists have  triumphed." 

But  "  if  a  man  will  not  work,  neither  shall  he  eat " 
must  always  be  the  law  of  the  universe,  and  instead  of 
Capital,  machinery,  and  mechanical  utilities  being  the 
foes  of  the  worker,  making  his  laborious  task  the  harder, 
they  are  just  as  much  his  friends  and  more  surely  im- 
provers of  his  condition,  and  are  even  more  necessary 
to  his  civilized  existence  than  were  the  first  club,  spear, 
bow  and  arrow,  canoe,  and  net  invented  for  the  use  of 
our  cave-dwelling  ancestors. 

Who  and  what  are  the  Capitalists?  Every  man  or 
woman  with  good  health,  good  character,  common  sense, 
who  exercises  self-denial  and  practises  the  essential  law 
of  service  to  others,  can  become  a  Capitalist. 

Capital  and  wealth  or  health  are  the  results  that  Equity 
records  in  the  game  called  Life,  when  we  strike  theJ 
keyboard  letters  and  figures  with  habits  of  industry,  econ- 
omy, attention  to  duty,  service  to  mankind,  and  hard, 
concentrated  work.  Every  man  or  woman  lacking  in 
these  qualities  will  become  bankrupt  in  Capital,  wealth, 
or  health,  even  if  he  or  she  inherited  the  same  from  father 
or  remoter  ancestors,  who  had  possessed  and  had  prac- 
tised them.  Nor  can  Capital,  wealth,  and  health  be  f  raudu- 


SOCIALISM,  OR  EQUALITY  VS.  EQUITY     259 

lently  acquired  and  retained.  Poverty  and  ill-health  are 
the  record  of  Equity  in  the  game  called  Life  when  the  key- 
board letters  and  figures  of  fraud  or  of  idleness,  extrava- 
gance, slackness,  selfishness  in  regard  to  others  have  been 
struck  by  ourselves  or  our  fathers.  But  when  we  see 
Capital,  wealth  or  health,  poverty,  or  ill-health,  we  view 
them  as  causes  not  as  effects.  It  would  be  as  reasonable 
to  view  the  rosy  flush  of  health  or  the  pustules  of  small- 
pox as  the  cause  of  health  or  disease.  But  with  these 
manifestations  we  do  not  fall  into  any  such  error.  We 
know  they  are  not  causes,  and  we  recognize  them  as 
effects,  and  as  the  outward  and  visible  sign  of  good  health 
or  ill-health. 

It  would  be  just  as  logical  and  productive  of  service  to 
mankind  to  declaim  against  health  and  strength  as  it  is  to 
declaim  against  Capital  and  Wealth.  The  more  we  desire 
to  produce  conditions  that  result  in  rosy  cheeks  of  health 
and  strength,  the  more  we  find  ourselves  dependent  on 
the  conditions  that  equally  are  necessary  for  the  produc- 
tion of  Capital  and  Wealth.  Do  we  wish  mankind  to 
become  each  succeeding  year  the  possessor  of  more  Capi- 
tal and  of  more  Wealth,  Health,  and  Strength,  then  we 
must  make  easier  the  practice  of  the  qualities  that  lead  to 
the  acquisition  of  either  and  both.  We  must  do  nothing 
to  discourage  the  acquisition  of  Capital  and  Wealth,  any 
more  than  we  should  discourage  the  acquisition  of  health 
and  strength;  otherwise  we  shall  bring  suffering  and  dis- 
tress on  the  whole  human  race — on  ourselves  equally  with 
all  others. 

If  we  could  bring  greater  prosperity  and  happiness  on 
mankind  by  preventing  the  fertile  valley  from  yielding  a 
more  plentiful  and  a  richer  harvest  as  compared  with 
less  fertile  soils,  or  by  preventing  the  cow  that  was  a  good 
milker,  the  hen  that  was  a  good  layer,  from  producing 
more  than  the  poor  milker  or  poor  layers,  we  might  then 


260  THE  SIX-HOUR  SHIFT 

achieve  prosperity  and  happiness  by  preventing  or  dis- 
couraging the  man  or  woman  of  exceptional  powers  for 
the  acquisition  and  the  production  of  Capital,  Wealth,  or 
Health,  from  producing  more  than  was  produced  by  those 
of  feeble  powers  for  the  acquisition  of  either.  Any  at- 
tempt at  limiting  the  powers  of  the  individual  to  acquire 
wealth  is  like  endeavouring  to  lower  some  one's  standard 
of  health  because  it  is  higher  than  the  average.  The 
healthy  of  a  community  are  a  source  of  strength  to  all 
others,  and  so  are  the  wealthy.  What  we  require  to  do 
is  not  to  weaken  the  strong  or  impoverish  the  wealthy, 
but  to  show  to  the  weak  and  the  poor  the  way  to  become 
healthy  and  wealthy. 

Our  hope  for  the  future  is  a  deeper  and  wider  knowl- 
edge and  a  broader  outlook,  a  frank  discussion  without 
prejudice  or  temper.  We  are,  in  our  industrial  and 
economic  conditions,  merely  like  a  healthy,  strong  child 
that  has  grown  faster  than  it  could  be  provided  with  new 
clothes.  No  blame  attaches  to  Capital  for  this,  and  no 
blame  attaches  to  Labour ;  both  have  become  entangled  in 
the  strong  currents  bearing  along  the  drift  weeds  of  pre- 
vious growths.  The  strong  and  wealthy  are  as  helpful 
and  generous  as  the  sickly  and  poor  would  be  if  they  were 
to  change  places.  Men  work  and  are  saving  and  frugal, 
not  only  for  themselves,  but  for  their  wives  and  children. 
If  we  abolished  distinctions  between  men  there  would  still 
be  the  strong  and  the  weak,  the  healthy  and  the  ailing, 
and  consequently  the  rich  and  the  poor.  The  healthy  and 
strong  of  to-day  may  be  the  sickly  and  weak  of  to-mor- 
row, and  the  wealthy  of  to-day  may  become  the  poor  of 
to-morrow,  and  the  children  of  the  poor  of  yesterday  will 
then  take  their  places.  The  brightest  hope  for  the  future 
is  our  ever-increasing  healthy  wants  and  ever-increasing 
desire  to  live  and  enable  our  children  to  live  in 
greater  happiness  and  comfort.  The  old  wage  will 


SOCIALISM,  OR  EQUALITY  VS.  EQUITY     261 

not  supply  the  new  wants,  and  science  and  the  better  or- 
ganization of  our  industries  enable  us  by  increasing  pro- 
duction to  reduce  the  hours  of  toil,  increase  the  wages, 
and  cheapen  the  product. 

On  these  lines  our  future  happiness  lies,  and  not  on 
dreams  of  an  impossible  Socialism.  Already  we  see 
the  coming  of  a  new  day,  and  are  warmed  by  the  glorious 
rays  of  its  rising  sun. 


THE  END. 


INDEX 


Accidents,    precautions    against, 

168-75 
Agriculture    as   an   example   of 

unrestricted  output,   192-3 
"All  Electric"  scheme,  the,  35. 
America,   labour,   conditions   in, 

50-1 

production  in,  13,  35,  50-1 
machinery  and  wages  in,  201 
inequality  of  wealth  in,  222 
Australia,     working     conditions 
in,  53 

Birkenhead,  prosperity  of,  161 
Borrowing,  97,  255 
Boy  Scout  movement,  41 
British  national  debt,  19 
Business,  132 

truthfulness  in,  139-40 

overconfidence  in,  142 

"  Ca'canny "  policy,  the,  i,  7,  13, 

17,  53,  191,  209,  254 
Capital— 

and  Labour,  56  et  seq. 
dependent  on  management  and 

labour,  93 
its  obligations,  107 
and  Henry  Ford,  203-5 
as  agent  or  broker,  212 
basis  of  prosperity,  253-61 
greatest  of  utilities,  255 
attacks  on,  256-8 
Capitalists,  defination  of,  258 
Capitalist  system,   results   from, 

118-19 
Certificates,   Lord   Leverhulme's 

scheme  of,  97-9 
Combines,  247 
Comfort  of  employees,  8 
Commercial  supremacy,  44-5 
Competition,  90,  106 
Co-operative  system,   120 
Co-partnership,    63,    69-84,    133, 
144,  177,  232-6 


and  management,  85-112 

and  efficiency,  113-30 

at    Lever    Brothers,    Limited, 

109-11 

Cotton  industry,  72 
Courtesy  in  business,  139 
Crompton's      and      Arkwright's 
spinning-looms,  219 

Daylight  saving,  135 
Day-work     versus     Piece-work, 

103 

Death  duties,  46 
Democracy,  48 
Pivisional     Committees,     166-8, 

173 

Education,    40-3,    178-9,    215-16, 
287 

Efficiency,  113  et  seq. 

Egoists,  248-50 

Employers,  capable  and  incapa- 
ble, 75 

Employers    and    employees,    16, 
18,  183-4 

Employment,  regulation  of,  92 

Equality,   not   based   on   equity, 

246 
sincere  claims  for,  222 

Equity,  246-8 

Evening  classes,  41,  178 

Excess  profits  tax,  207 

Factory  Act  Legislation,  28-9 
Factory   Acts    Amendment   Bill 

debate,  26-7 
Factory  buildings,  165 
Factories,  shortage  of,  39 
Ford,  Henry,  203-5,  211,  215 
Free  land  for  housing,  155-8 

George,  Henry,  theories   of,   II 
Golden  Rule  in  business,  116 
Government,  its  powers  and  du- 
ties, 239-40 
dependent  on  labour,  225 


264 


INDEX 


types  of,  251-2 
socialistic,  252 

Hadfield,    Sir    Robert,    quoted, 

33-4 

Happiness,  5,  12 
John    B right's    definition    of, 

225 

Health  and  housing,  145-68 
Health  insurance,  47 
Health  of  munition  workers,  32 
Home,  importance  of,  6 

love  for,  48 
Housing     of     working    classes, 

146,   162 
in  London,  21,   156-6 

Income  tax,  46,  88,  182,  207,  228, 

230 
"  Industrial         Administration, ' 

185,  191 

Industrial  system,  flaws  in,  88 
Imitation,  135 

Jeans,    Miss    Victorine,    quoted, 
28 

Labour — 

British  attitude  toward,  4 
conditions  in  America,  50-1 
as  a  Debenture  Holder,  69 
eligibility   of,    for   Boards   of 

Directors,  43,  107-8 
laws  ineffective,  209 
relations    to    capital,     58    et 
seq.,  118-19 

under  Socialism,  251-2 
"Labour    the    source    of    all 
wealth,"  fallacy  the,  202,  205 
and  production  of  wealth,  hu- 
man factor  in,  77 
Labour  and  Capital,  56-67 
Labour  unrest,  9-11,  40,  64,  68, 

H3,  197 

Land,  division  of,  105 
Leisure,  importance  of,  109 
Liberty,  definitions  of,  225 
Liverpool,  overcrowding  in,  148 
London,     in     Cromwell's     time, 
219 

overcrowding  in,  148 

death-rate  in,  151 
Loss-sharing,  89,  101 


Machine    power    versus   human 

energy,  14-16 

Machinery  increases  wages,  201 
Management  and  Labour,  86  et 

seq. 

Manchester  Ship  Canal,  203 
Monotony,  deadening  effect  of, 

8,  20-1 

National  debt,  19 
National   prosperity,    seven   pil- 
lars of,  218 

Output,  maximum,  33 
absorption  of,  36 
and  shorter  hours,  190-2 
of      English-speaking      races, 

52-3 
Output,  restriction  of,  7,  13,  49, 

57,  189,   194 
Overcrowding,  147-52 

Partners,   sleeping,  134-5 

active,  136 

People's  budget,  the,  209 
Philanthropy  not  desirable,  103, 

147 

Port   sunlight,   statistics   of   ac- 
cidents, 174 

births,  deaths,  and  marriages, 
179 

Preference  shares,  09 

Problem,     employer's     greatest, 

183 
Production,  17 

quality  of  essential,  37 

after  the  war,  37 

increase  of,  189,  198,  215 
Profit-sharing,  71-132 

defined,  87 
Prosperity-sharing,  80-1 

Raw  material,  39 
Rents  154,  i59-6o 
Rockefeller,  212,  215 
Ruskin,  quoted,  195 

"Safety   Bulletin   Boards,"   171, 

189 

Safety  Inspector's  Report,  170 
Self-interest  in  business,  85 


INDEX 


265 


"Scientific  Management,"  185-6. 
Service  the  law  of  life,  44-7 
Shaftesbury,   Lord,   speeches   in 

1844  and  1866,  29-30. 
Sharing    of    capital,    drawbacks 

in,  95-7. 

Shop  committees,  164  et  seq. 
Six-hour  day,  23,  36-7,  39,  179 

and  education,  40 

gain  by  adoption  of,  54-5. 
Six-hour  shift,  the,  20  et  seq. 
Socialism,  243-6 
Socialist     criticisms     answered, 

103-5 
Society,   interdependence   of,   9- 

10 

St.  Paul,  cited,  231 
"Staff  Training  College,"  178 
Strikes,  91 
Supply  and  demand,  200 

Taxation,  proper  basis  of,  22 

fair  proportion,  46-7 
Ten  Hours  Bill,  36 
Tenements,  147-50 
Trade,  fluctuations  of,  44-5 
Trade  unions,  194-5 

in  British  colonies,  53 

and  co-partnership,  67-8 

and  profit-sharing,  71 
Trades  Unionist,  the,  246 
Training  essential,  14,  42-3 
Trust  and  distrust  of  Labour,  4 

Vernon,  Dr.,  report  of,  32 


Wages- 
wartime  demand  for  increase, 

17 

after  the  war,  18 

relation  to  output,  20 

under  co-partnership,  22 

and  cost  of  living,  25,  51 

logic  of  present  system,  51 

adjustment  of,  91 

increase  of  decreases  earnings, 
117 

and  better  conditions,  128 

in  America,  191-2,  201 

in  agriculture,  192 

increased  by  machinery,  193 

in  China  and  India,  201 
"Wage  slavery,"  257-9 
Wages  boards,  127 
Walton,  Cecil,  quoted,  34-5 
Waste,  avoidance  of,  19,  49,  136 
Wealth,   11-13 

inequality  of,  45 

and  labour,  205-7 

conscription  of,  224-7 

production  of,  230 

confiscation  of,  197 

necessary   to   human   welfare, 

259 

Welfare  work,  21,  165-79 
Work,  blessings  of,  45 

necessity   for,   258 
Works  Committees,  166-9 
Workers,  intelligence  of,  6 

in  United  Kingdom,  20 
Working  day,  20,  230 
Workmen's  dwellings,  156 


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